


Cherry Vampire Rose Red

by wulfpup



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe - Vampire, I Don't Even Know, M/M, Pining, Romance, Smut, You Have Been Warned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-24
Updated: 2019-11-27
Packaged: 2021-01-02 06:08:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 41,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21156866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wulfpup/pseuds/wulfpup
Summary: BAE 2019 prompt : 154(in an ambiguous time, set in an ambiguous place.After long years of carefully biding his time, Park Chanyeol finally ‘chooses’ his fiancé. Byun Baekhyun is a human who will have to abandon all that he holds dear to live with a vampire. Some hoped Byun Baekhyun would be driven to madness in the eternal cold of the vampire's lands, others hoped for a miracle, for a heartwarming tale of love to be borne from the icy depths of vampire Chanyeol's heart.





	1. Part One - Blush

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone. Cherry Vampire Rose Red is the story I was supposed to write for BAE2019. Since I couldn't post it for BAE season, I adopted the prompt and it took me forever to get to it, what with writer's block and a stressful irl time. But it would have been a real shame to not share this story with readers, too sad for it to be collecting dust in my docs. 
> 
> This is the first of six chapters, the rest to be posted every Saturday till 27th of November, our Chanyeollie's birthday. It's my beta, Marian Potter's idea. So, if any complaints, feel free to hit her with flowers and brickbats ;) 
> 
> Thanks to R for again lending her silver hand in choosing the prompt. Thanks to the readers in advance, for being so supportive and for waiting for me, for sharing the CB love with me. Life is harsh, you guys make it liveable. I have been eating and sleeping well, hope you all are fine as well. Always wishing luck in the shadows to each one of you, wherever you are, wherever life leads you. 
> 
> About the story, it's a vampire au fic, so some things which are always attached to vamp AUS will be sprinkled in generous dollops within the story - the mentions of blood, blood sucking, and other what have yous. But over and above it is a love story :) Take your sweet time reading it, just as I took my time writing it. Much love.

_ "I prefer winter and fall — the loneliness of it; the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn't show." _

_   
_ _ \- A.W. _

  
It is perennial winter in the smattering of cottages many hundred kilometres north of the city. One has to take a rusty red train from the city station all the way to this snow clad nowhere, if at all they decide to spend their holidays in the woods, surrounded by nothing but sheet upon sheet of white snow-covered ground. The cackle of firewood and the distant howling of jackals are the only sounds to be heard for miles in the winter that crawls through these lands. 

Spring is slow and lazy and plays a hard to get coquette, summer lasts no more than a month. 

Into this grim wilderness, Baekhyun advanced, his face mirroring the cold weather outside, heart hardened. He had a letter of introduction clutched tight in his hand, sealed with red wax, and two large, leather-bound suitcases. He was to present the letter of introduction to Park Chanyeol as soon as he reached his destination.

Journeying by train would have been just as suitable to his current state of mind, he most definitely would have been lulled by the gentle chug chug of the steam engine. Instead of the gentle reassurance that rail journeys bring, he was now visited with mild panic in the back seat of the family Mercedes. 

There was nothing but snow here, and a never ending road that led him straight to .. how should he put it? Imprisonment? A life sentence? 

His eyes drooped.

There were tales of vampires living amongst men, in bustling cities, undisclosed, veiled, preying on unsuspecting people, living the foul lives that bloodsuckers are known to live. Then there were vampires like Park Chanyeol who resided as far away from humanity as possible, yet exercising more will and power than any random nightwalker in the city could. 

Park Chanyeol's arms were long and his power potent, even from the back of the beyond, this vampire made other beings submit. 

Park Chanyeol made Lady Tiffany submit, and that's saying something.

_ It'll be alright. I'll be alright. _

Baekhyun will not let his unease show. He had made up his mind to act resilient. He was not a child, not anymore, not after all that he had come to learn from Lady Tiffany. It was his own decision to accept Park Chanyeol's  _ offer  _ of marriage. His first instinct had been that of denial, that of cold dread. Acceptance about his predicament,  _ his family's predicament _ , came much later, dragging its feet. 

Baekhyun _ w _ as the only heir, the last of Lady Tiffany's line. The single streak of cherry red hair in the platinum blonde head indicated his status as an aristocrat. It was the sole cause of the predicament he was in - that he was born into a family of aristocrats, who also happened to be erstwhile vampire hunters. 

Vampire hunting was all in the ancient past now, following the treaty that was signed, the treaty which allowed old vampires of power to choose their brides and grooms from amongst the aristocratic families. They say aristocrats can never be turned into vampires, and hence, Park Chanyeol and his legion boldly proposed intermarriage between the two warring sides to bring lasting peace. But what is peace, though?

Baekhyun worried that he may never know peace of mind ever again in his life. At twenty and four, he was adorned the fiance of vampire Park Chanyeol. Freshly out of university, and well on the cusp of embarking on a life of travels and plunders, the young aristocrat’s wings were clipped off before he could well and truly fly. Some said it was a huge honour, to be the esteemed consort of one of the oldest and most powerful vampires. 

Lady Tiffany had not said either this or that, opting instead to be tight-lipped and vigilant.

“If you want, I can hide you from the vampire.” she had offered. Park Chanyeol had always been  _ the vampire  _ for her, the only one; she refused to acknowledge any other, lesser born nightwalker. “But it will be a life of constant running and looking behind your shoulders. The vampire will find you even if I hide you deep inside the bowels of the earth. His mind has been set on my last living heir since centuries now. He will not pause. He will pursue you tirelessly.” 

In Baekhyun resided all the pride that aristocrats were naturally born with. “I'll go.” he relented. “I'll go to Cherry Vampire manor.”

The car came to a halt outside a towering gate, less an entrance and more like a wrought iron portal beyond which lay even more snow covered grounds and a cobbled, white flecked road. And who knew what!

“Lady Tiffany's orders were to drop you right in front of the main gate.”

Baekhyun smiled at the driver, and passed him a newly minted note as a tip. “Thank you, Holland. I am sure Park Chanyeol has made arrangements for the onward journey. Tell Lady Tiffany that I reached safely, and without incident.”

Arrangements turned out to be a horse drawn carriage and a cheerful looking lad who looked no older than him; but Baekhyun knew that looks could be deceiving in these parts ; to the unsuspecting soul, perfectly human looking beings could reveal themselves as invincible nightwalkers in a mere blink of an eye.

“Kim Jongdae at your service.” the fair youth said, before proceeding to fit Baekhyun's belongings in the back of the carriage. His movements were sharp, quick, his eyes even more so. “It is a twenty minute ride from here to the manor. We should reach by tea time.”

_ Ah! Looks do lie. _

Baekhyun smiled. “Lady Tiffany told me about you. You are Park Chanyeol's right hand man, are you not?” 

“That is right.” Jongdae swelled with pride. He helped the guest inside the carriage. The horses began to move at the light prodding of the coachman. Baekhyun flapped the carriage window open, letting his gaze swim over the view, over acres and acres of neverending white. 

“I never knew my fiance owned a horse drawn carriage in this day and age.” 

“Master has a whole stable for his prized horses,” Jongdae supplied, eyes twinkling, “and a garage full of cars.”

Baekhyun stared at the trees that came into view. He did not know  _ anything  _ about Park Chanyeol, he realised. Suddenly, he was very curious. “What does he look like, your boss?” 

The question took Jongdae by surprise. 

The aristocrat smiled at the amazement on the boyish face. “I asked around but Lady Tiffany did not have any recent photograph. She handed me an eighteenth century book containing a seedy sketch of Park Chanyeol.” Baekhyun wondered whether the countenance depicted therein bore any real resemblance to his fiance _ . _

“There is no one who can match Master Park's peerless beauty.” Jongdae answered, sounding a little pompous. 

Baekhyun bit back a smile, making up lies as the carriage hurtled forward. “Lady Tiffany told me that my fiance has demonic red eyes and an ugly temper. She said he has a vile appetite and can feast on humans for days and days.”

Jongdae had trouble hiding his frown, “I beg your pardon but Lady Tiffany and Master do not see eye to eye on many issues. They have been at loggerheads since antiquity. She has scant regard for Master Park and it is understandable why she has painted such a roguish picture of him.”

Jongdae was correct, there was no love lost between Park Chanyeol and Baekhyun's great, great, great, many times great grandmother. Lady Tiffany had been, once upon a very long time, a vampire hunter of great renown. 

“How would you describe him then?” Baekhyun asked. 

“Master Park is a scholar, a poet, a musician well adept in twenty seven languages. By day he runs his famous chocolate empire and by night, he retires to his library to read.”

“Don't you mean he retires at night to hunt?” Baekhyun prompted. 

Jongdae took immediate offence, “Did Lady Tiffany tell you that?” he almost fumed, loyal to a fault, “Master is the most peace loving vampire ever. Neither human, nor animal hunting is allowed in these grounds.”

Baekhyun arched a brow. 

“Master is nothing like you imagine him to be.” the servant pressed confidently, clicking his tongue.

Baekhyun was not convinced. His family and Park Chanyeol had a centuries-old feud. Bad blood. “Lady Tiffany told me that you have been his loyal servant since ages.”

Jongdae snorted, “I know she calls me Master Park's  _ loyal dog.”  _ He swelled some more, “I have served him for generations now.”

“And yet you are no vampire.” Baekhyun keenly observed.

“Master Byun,” Jongdae leaned towards him and whispered, “There are no vampires save one in  _ Cherry Vampire Manor _ . Boss likes to pretend he is human in front of the rest of the staff and you are expected to play along.”

It was Baekhyun's turn to be taken aback now, “Not one?” he whispered.

“Not a single one.”

“Th-then how do you defend these lands against other evil forces?” Baekhyun sat up, very interested. 

The  _ loyal dog _ winked, “You'll know soon enough.”

Baekhyun looked out the carriage window, “I thought Cherry Vampire Manor is a sort of safe haven for other bloodsuckers.” 

The way he uttered ‘bloodsuckers’ made Jongdae cast a sharp glance at him. The _loyal dog_ shook his head this way and that, “Master has no patience for unruly folks. There are scores of baby vamps running amok in cities but luckily for us, the Manor is free of such young and troublesome pests.”

“Then who do those cottages belong to?” Baekhyun pointed at the dwellings in the distance, “I see smoke and lights through the trees.”

“Factory workers, who else?” Jongdae shrugged, as though it should have been evident. He placed a hand over his heart, ready to recite. “ _ Cherry Vampire  _ is the largest brand of dark chocolates in the world. Under Master Park's tireless care,  _ Cherry Vampire  _ has risen from obscurity of the 1850s to become a Fortune 500 company. There is not a single child in this world who hasn't heard of or tasted our very delicious and very affordable dark chocolate.”

“I haven't.” Baekhyun declared, eyes shining.

“Of course _you _haven't.” Jongdae made light of Baekhyun's declaration, “It is understandable that Lady Tiffany did not introduce her great grandson to the rich taste of_ Cherry Vampire _chocolates. Like I said, they have bad blood, your great granny and your fiance. You great granny hates vampires.”

“I don't  _ like _ chocolates.” Baekhyun intervened. “Besides, Lady Tiffany does not hate Park Chanyeol, as far as I can tell. Your boss is the one who swore revenge on our family.”

Jongdae chuckled, “Heh heh. Best leave those matters to your elders, shall we? We are almost here. Why don't I walk you through the house rules before we reach the manor.”

Baekhyun stared straight at the  _ loyal dog,  _ ready to memorise at least a dozen new rules. There was no way in sinister hell that Park Chanyeol was going to go easy on the last living descendant of Lady Tiffany. He would not even be remotely surprised if he was dragged to a dark and dank dungeon the minute he arrived, only to rot away for the rest of his life. Surely the manor had a fully functioning dungeon infested with bats and rat bones and cobwebs.  _ Cherry Vampire Manor  _ was going to be his prison, of that he was certain. 

Baekhyun slightly shivered, attempting to hide his nervousness from the keen eyes of Park Chanyeol's loyal dog.

“There is only one rule.” Jongdae supplied gaily, “You must never enter the bed chambers of Master Park.  _ Never ever ever.  _ You are free to move around, as you please. The library is really well stocked. If you have a reading bent, boredom will never find you.”

“I'm free to do as I please?” Baekhyun was astounded. Lady Tiffany had painted such a grim picture. Or maybe, maybe there was a catch hidden away somewhere, only to be revealed at an opportune moment to cause him maximum shock. Vampires were known to be sadists, reveling in small joys like that. 

Jongdae tilted his head to the side, “Did you really think we would bind you in iron chains and leave you to rot in prison?” The  _ loyal dog  _ could not contain his glee. “Lady Tiffany should give Master some credit. When has he ever been unfair in his dealings?”

Baekhyun was quiet for the rest of the ride, going over the many warnings of his family matriarch. Now more so than ever, he was curious about his fiance, the vampire. He had lived a sheltered life insofar as vampires were concerned. Byun Baekhyun had never come face to face with a bloodsucker, and now he was finally going to meet  _ the _ vampire.

He imagined his fiance to be clever and sadistic, more monster than human, a vampire prey-ing over weaklings on this earth for far too long. The centuries old image Lady Tiffany had provided of Park Chanyeol did little to alleviate the stress bubbling inside him. What dark eyes, what dark gaze! 

“We are here.”

Baekhyun poked his head out of the window to survey the many trees and rose shrubberies rushing forward to greet them. From afar, the roses looked as though someone had spilled a lot of blood on the snow covered grounds. He felt queasy inside, blood always made Baekhyun queasy. Staring at the red dots poking out from under their snow cover made him suddenly realise the enormity of where he was and who he was going to be with. That his fiance was a bloodsucking vampire sunk in with renewed force. 

_ He was going to be living with a vampire under the same roof!  _

Panic set in.

“Whoof!” he grabbed a lungful of air, glaring at the roses; they had no right to be so deep, dark red, the very colour of human essence. “Just roses.” he whispered to himself. “Just bloody roses.”

Jongdae helped him get off the carriage, not missing the rabid look in Baekhyun's eyes. “Roses help cover the scent of humans. Master prefers to have bouquets of flowers in every room. It’s easier for him like so. Aren't they pretty?”

Baekhyun cast a glance at the well manicured rose shrubs. Yeah, pretty in a morbid kind of way, he thought. Some strange and potent force came and twisted his guts in tiny knots. 

“They match your cherry red streak perfectly.” Jongdae pointed out, smiling. 

Baekhyun retouched his platinum blonde hair at that, trying to hide the errant streak of red. The slip of cherry colour always stood out, announcing his status as an aristocrat much before anything or anyone else could. He had always been fond of his hair, could he learn to hate it here in Cherry Vampire Manor _ ? _

The young aristocrat straightened his peacoat, watching the horses pull the carriage away. Dusk was beginning to set, the air was turning chillier. He looked at Jongdae, and followed the _loyal_ _dog's _line of sight up, up, up to the third storey. A curtain was quickly pulled back in place, someone had been observing them up until that very second. 

“Master occupies the third floor.” Jongdae supplied cheerfully. “It is out of bounds for you.” 

Baekhyun bit the insides of his cheek, what kind of fate awaited him here. 

He would not see the master of the manor until dinnertime. Jongdae insisted he take a hot water bath first, “It will loosen your taut nerves.” 

Baekhyun made the face of an errant child the moment he stepped inside what was to be his bedchamber. The smell of roses was so overpowering, it nauseated him. “ _ Achoo _ ! My head spins. Take the vases away.” he cried. 

Jongdae would do no such thing. “Would you rather your scent overpower the house?” he calmly asked, “So brave our young aristocrat is! Aren't you afraid that a certain vampire apparently full of bloodlust will come and suck you dry, if your scent pleases him?”

Baekhyun frowned. “You said he didn't hunt.”

“But you're newly arrived. A vampire will need to garner self control first. The roses are not going anywhere.” Jongdae's face remained placid but why did Baekhyun feel that Jongdae seemed to be enjoying his little tantrum.

The young aristocrat blinked at Jongdae, “Back home, all servants heeded my word.”

“I serve only one Master.” the  _ loyal dog's  _ calm eyes glittered. He was definitely enjoying Baekhyun's orientation. 

Baekhyun pointed it out loud.

Jongdae rubbed his nape, appearing a little sheepish now, “It has been decades since someone your age came to live here. I will not lie, things tend to get boring here. I am anticipating your exchanges with Master,” he next rubbed his hands, “ _ finally _ something exciting is going down in Cherry Vampire Manor _ . _ " Yes, it looked like the  _ loyal dog was _ internally celebrating.” 

Fifteen minutes later, after having politely turned down tea, the young aristocrat submerged himself in the bath. That the water was rose scented came as little surprise to him. The sky outside had turned pitch dark and a curtain of doom and gloom fell over Baekhyun. 

He let his thoughts drift but immediately sat up when some hounds howled in the distance. So ominous! He rubbed his face, listening to the wild howling some more, senses alert. 

Baekhyun uttered a cry of surprise when someone softly tapped the bathroom door. “Don’t let the howling scare you.” Jongdae's voice came in from the other side of the door. “They are master's prized hounds. It's probably dog dinnertime. Jongin, as usual, is late in feeding them.

“Who said I was scared?” Baekhyun shot back. He stepped out of the bath and tied the thick robe around his frame. Could it be that this  _ loyal dog  _ was having a lot of fun at his expense!

Jongdae helped him step inside his clothes and tied his shoes for him. “It gets very cold here.” he draped a heavy woollen overcoat over the young aristocrat's shoulders. “Master asked me to prepare warm clothes for you. I chose this one myself.” The  _ loyal dog's  _ eyes were thin slits of merriment, even though his expression gave nothing away. “Do you like it?”

Baekhyun breathed warm air through his nose, “Did it have to be scarlet in colour?” He could not disguise the tone of complaint and contempt in his voice.

Jongdae smiled placatingly, in a way one would smile when offering candy to a wailing toddler. “The red perfectly complements your hair. You look like a rose yourself.”

Baekhyun struggled not to roll his eyes even as Jongdae went on. “In fact, the way they spoke of you, one would automatically picture a rose, proud and imposing.”

“The way who spoke?”

“Master made enquiries before asking for your hand.” Jongdae said as he helped fasten the buttons of the overcoat. 

Baekhyun peered at the  _ loyal dog's  _ boyish face. The vampire had no reason to conduct a background check, his long cherished desire had been only to claim the last living heir of Lady Tiffany as his fiance so that her bloodline would wipe itself out in front of her very own eyes. 

Park Chanyeol had granted her a long, eternal life so that Lady Tiffany could see her family line diminish to nothingness. Her bloodline had been resilient for many, many years, but the vampire waited with the patience of one who has time on his side. 

And then, finally, fate smiled on the vampire. A cruise trip round the world had turned into a heartbreaking accident for the Byuns, with only Baekhyun surviving the capsize. He had lost his parents and older brother at the young age of eight.

Miles and miles away, hidden away in his glory manor, a vampire celebrated. 

“Why would my fiance make enquiries about me?” Baekhyun nearly scoffed, “Everyone knew he would seek my hand the day my parents died. Don't you know, he was waiting all along to claim the hand of the last heir? If I died and my brother survived, Park Chanyeol would have come asking for my brother. How does it matter to him, what I am like? All he seeks is revenge on Lady Tiffany.”

“Who knows.” Jongdae shrugged loftily, then bent to whisper in Baekhyun's ears, “Personally, I hope you dazzle Master right away.” 

Baekhyun was nothing if not shocked at Jongdae's passionate confession. “What do you mean,  _ dazzle your master? _ I am not dazzling any vampire, thank you very much. If anything, vampires disgust me, them and their bloodsucking ways.”

“Tsk tsk.” Jongdae shook his head, “Spoken like a true Lady Tiffany heir. But we'll see. Master has made people swoon before.” 

Baekhyun looked at himself one last time in the mirror, “You mean he hoodwinks them.”

Jongdae shook his head, “Master would never! He is honorable. I meant - he makes people go weak in the knees.”

“You mean he hypnotises them!”

Jongdae laughed good naturedly, "Master never uses common and vulgar vampire tricks. I meant to say that he can make people crush over him by simply breathing, standing in a room perfectly minding his own business. He is  _ that  _ good looking.”

Baekhyun laughed, “I have seen a fair share of good looking men. I have never swooned, nor gone weak in the knees.”

“I am a patient shipper.” Jongdae nodded solemnly. He guided Baekhyun downstairs to the dining hall, also decorated with vase upon vase of the sweet smelling flowers, much to the aristocrat's dismay. 

Baekhyun took his seat, looking around. The room was decorated with oil paintings of sturdy and sturdier horses, yet no portrait of the vampire came in sight. He placed the letter of introduction on the table, preparing to finally face the vampire. Finally, he will look into the eyes of his captor and size Park Chanyeol up for himself. 

Baekhyun sat up straighter upon hearing heavy footsteps on the wooden staircase, fingers resting on his knees. The hair on his nape stood on end, every human pore resisting the advance of a foe, his instincts telling him to flee for a predator approached nearer and nearer with every ticking second. No lecture, no foreboding of Lady Tiffany could prepare him to face this moment with his trademark calm. He was about to come face to face with a vampire, someone who could snap his neck with a single, lazy movement. 

His face was drained of all blood, pale and erect he sat, awaiting the push of the door, the vampire's arrival. 

The blood came back to his face with full force the minute Park Chanyeol stepped inside the dining hall, and  _ their eyes met. _

_ He forgot to breathe.  _

Now, it so happens many times in our lives that we are determined to dislike an object, we tell ourselves at the very outset that we most definitely will not warm up to said object, that we do not like it, that we cannot like it, we will hate it, surely we will, but when the opportune moment arises, we find ourselves overwriting every prior declaration and acting in an unexpected manner. So it happened with Baekhyun. 

The young aristocrat was determined to not be awed by the vampire, truth be told, the thought that he could be awed by a nightwalker had never crossed his mind. He, of course, had  _ some _ idea that vampires held a certain attraction, but had discounted that threat as something that could only be applicable to impressionable youths. He had foolishly thought himself to be slightly better, surmising that the presence of a vampire would faze him not.

Byun Baekhyun watched, speechless and tongue tied, as Park Chanyeol the vampire strode inside the hall. Nothing about the newly arrived was smooth and understated; his whole demeanour screamed that this was a beast of prey and nothing and no one was safe from him. 

Baekhyun was suddenly grateful that there were vase upon vase of lightly scented flowers arranged all over the hall. He hoped they masked his human scent well, because the vampire was looking at him with eyes that can only belong to a predator.

The aristocrat knew he was red up to his ears because of how intense this first sighting of a vampire has been, Park Chanyeol refusing to tear his eyes away as well. 

Baekhyun watched, rapt, as his host took the seat directly accross him. It was surreal how the silver in the vampire's hair looked like a crown. It was a staring match, only Baekhyun felt like he was truly given no choice in this matter - unable to look away and sweating under the cool surveillance of the vampire.

This was not a pale skinned bloodsucker with blood red lips, fangs peeking out, angry and arrogant and downright nasty. There was nothing textbook about this vampire who was staring back at him - the skin tan was real, plush lips more peach in colour than red, no hint of either arrogance or anger in the demeanour, just a calm, appraising look. And yet Baekhyun's senses went haywire, one feeling fighting with the other, awe and wonder and disbelief mixing with fear for life. Such was the potent danger renting the air.

“Do you perhaps wish to see my fangs as well?” the vampire asked, in a voice so deep that it felt like the sound originated not in the beast's chest, but from the depths of earth. 

Summoning all his aristocratic charm, Baekhyun tried to school his face into a politer expression, belatedly realising that he was behaving like a small child who had sighted a lion at the zoo. This was not the zoo, and Park Chanyeol was not caged. He could not speak yet, so enamoured was he with this first brush with a vampire. He settled for a shake of his head, handing Chanyeol his letter of introduction. 

The vampire took the sealed envelope and cast it aside. 

“Your name is Baekhyun.”

Baekhyun could not tell if it was a query, or a statement. In any case, he was still unable to utter anything, even a sigh. It must be such a sight for Chanyeol, he thought - Lady Tiffany's heir tongue tied in the old vampire's presence. If only the vampire would smile, Baekhyun could take heart. 

The aristocrat nodded.

“And you come here willingly, as my fiancé, knowing my true nature, knowing full well that I am not human?” A query.

Baekhyun half nodded, half sighed. Some lad entered the hall with the first course, steaming roasted meats elegantly placed on a silver plate.

“Do I scare you?” Chanyeol asked once the servant walked out to fetch more food.

Baekhyun found that his tongue was willing to obey him this time. “No.” he uttered forcefully. He was not scared of this vampire. “I am not scared of you.”

“Hmm.” his host applied his attention to the food laid in front of them, even as the servant brought more. Once alone, Chanyeol's eyes came back to rest on Baekhyun. 

“I believe you know the reason why I asked for your hand.”

“Lady Tiffany told me about the history of your animosity with our family. She said you’re extracting revenge on her by making sure her bloodline ceases with my coming here.” 

The vampire smiled for the first time, he seemed satisfied. The crease in Chanyeol's face, and the dimple that appeared out of nowhere in his face made him look a tad bit human. 

“I have no personal vendetta against you. You need not fear for your life. My manor, my grounds are yours to move around. I believe Jongdae has already expressed my desire for you to not step on the third floor.”

Baekhyun nodded, fork in mouth, wondering if the vampire was being earnest, or simply playing with a prey.

“Aside from that, as long as you mind your own business, I see no reason why your stay in Cherry Vampire Manor has to be unpleasant. Lady Tiffany worries for naught.”

Baekhyun concentrated on his plate, opting to remain silent. 

“Don't you have anything to ask?” The vampire asked after long minutes of silence.

There were thousands of tiny, useless questions milling around in Baekhyun's head, the whats, whys, hows, whens, wheres. He knew next to nothing about vampires; suddenly, he wanted to know everything, from the very beginning. But his words somehow came out as scathing. “Now that you have seemingly extracted your revenge on Lady Tiffany, are you happy? Are you at peace?” 

Chanyeol's gaze darkened; it's true what they say about vampires, Baekhyun realised - they are perilous creatures. “What makes you think I am not happy?” came the low rumble, a minor upset of bedrocks in a still and silent rivulet.

“You have spent centuries alone.” Baekhyun did not raise his voice lest the servants heard. “Instead of waiting for Lady Tiffany's last surviving heir, you could have found yourself somebody to love, to care for, added meaning to your ceaseless existence. A man who lives a loveless life must surely be bored and unhappy.”

Chanyeol tilted his head, taking Baekhyun's words in his stride. “You make it so obvious that you were born yesterday. Don't worry your pretty head over my lack of romance, I have engaged in several amorous dalliances, a hundred fold more than what you will be able to experience in your short lifespan. What has been missing from my life is comradeship, and do you know why? C'mon, don't look so clueless, you must surely have a fair idea? Lady Tiffany annihilated all my brothers in arms on the false pretext of parleys. Is it not the bedtime story of all aristocrat children, how the brave and valiant Lady Tiffany single handedly annihilated a dozen vampires? No?”

Baekhyun licked his lips, giving nothing away. Truth be told, he was merely told that Lady Tiffany and Park Chanyeol had been on opposite sides during the great war. He was denied all specifics. The ones who knew the whole truth of the war had been dead for centuries now and Lady Tiffany was elusive even on the best of days.

“I trust that you will sleep well. Don't mind the howls, my hounds are let loose at night to guard the grounds.”

Jongdae magically appeared by his side the minute Park Chanyeol walked out. The  _ loyal dog  _ walked Baekhyun upstairs to his room and hovered around until the young aristocrat was tucked under the thick blankets, ready for bed. 

“It's actually a shame that we do not have anyone to wait on you at night, someone to feed the fire and fetch you hot water or milk. Master does not want servants to sleep in the manor, for their own safety. The servants retire to their quarters. What I mean to tell you is that if you value your life, do not venture outside your bedroom at night. Should you hear footsteps in the middle of the night, rest assured that Master is up and about, for he does not and will not allow any other person to trespass.”

Baekhyun glared at the servant; Jongdae was definitely trying to creep him out in the pretext of being helpful. “Most things don't scare me.” he explained, and prayed that Jongdae would finally leave him alone. He needed to be alone with his thoughts. He needed to  _ think  _ about the vampire.

“If Master Park doesn't scare you, shall I take it that he excites you instead?”

“You're crass.” Baekhyun blinked before complaining. He reached over to turn the bedside lamp off. Jongdae took the cue and turned to leave. “Tomorrow,” the aristocrat called out to the departing back, “will you tell me all about the great war?”

Jongdae paused by the doorway, saying nothing. 

“I know you were one of the witnesses to the war. Lady Tiffany let it slip.”

“Is there anything specific that you wish to know?” came the voice in the dark.

“I want to know everything.” Baekhyun declared. 

“Very well, tomorrow then.” Jongdae chuckled and bowed out.

Once alone, Baekhyun gathered the covers and curled up into a ball, ears alert to the cold wind whooshing past his window, whispering indecipherable secrets.


	2. Part Two - Crimson

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yayyyyie, it is a Saturday! And here is the chapter :) A pat on the back to my wonderful beta M. 
> 
> I was originally going to adopt a very sombre mood for this fic. But my mind is crack and sometimes it shows up in this chapter /sorry sorry/

~~

Baekhyun tossed and turned in bed that night, pulling and pushing away at the soft fur covers, sleeping fitfully. He saw a smattering of broken dreams, and kept waking up intermittently to hear howls in the distance. In the dead of the night, and this thinly populated vampire estate, Baekhyun imagined numerous creatures prowling about. It was a perpetual stillness inside the manor though, his heartbeats the only sound. He heard no footsteps on the wooden staircase, no creaks from wooden doors, no sound of a vampire's arrival in his room to suck him dry. 

The vampire kept himself at bay. Baekhyun wondered what Park Chanyeol was like - did he laugh at things he found funny, and did he laugh often. Did he smile at all? Did his eyes crinkle with mirth under the sun, was he youthful once, and did his heart beat for someone at some point in time? 

In his dream, Park Chanyeol came and bent over his sleeping form -  _ you should sleep now. sleep well. there is nothing here that wishes you harm -  _ the hand that lay on his forehead was warm. Baekhyun's eyes fluttered close, sealing shut for the night.

When Baekhyun woke up in the morning, he forgot all about the dream.

~~

Mornings at the manor, Baekhyun realised come dawn, were full of activity. He opened his eyes to a ribbon of pale yellow sunlight boldly announcing its presence inside a vampire's lair. Jongdae's carefree voice rent the air, Baekhyun heard snatches of his spring song coming from the lawn. The aristocrat smiled, and threw open the nearest window.

Down below, he saw the gardener tending to the rose bushes with a gusto that Baekhyun did not yet feel. 

Jongdae, who was standing in the midst of a group of people who seemed like factory workers, sensed Baekhyun in a split second. 

“Breakfast whenever you are ready.” the  _ loyal dog _ yelled at him, then went back to discussing matters with his company. 

Breakfast was poached eggs, toast and milk laced with honey. The owner of the manor was nowhere to be seen. 

“Where is he?” Baekhyun could not help but ask the servant boy. 

The boy looked up at him and stared. He stared wide eyed at Baekhyun for a century before answering. “M-master is with his hounds.”

Baekhyun stared back and mused to himself. “Is there something on my face?” Perhaps a milk moustache..

“Ah..” the servant's eyes widened. “N-no, your hair.”

The aristocrat quickly flattened his hair. He had combed it and styled it very neatly before coming downstairs. 

The servant shook his head frantically. “Your red streak." he finally explained. I -” the boy flushed, “it's fascinating.”

Baekhyun was pleased all at once. His platinum blonde hair with its delightfully red streak fascinated almost everyone he met. Almost everyone, save vampires. “Everyone born in my family has a cherry coloured streak.” Then, “What is your name?”

“Jongin. Kim Jongin.” Kim Jongin was smiling without hesitation now, his cheeks were bashful still. “I am the cook, well, mostly the cook. Master doesn't keep too many hands.”

“He does not?” Baekhyun knew that having too many humans around would be a distraction to a vampire. 

"It's just Kyungsoo and I. Kyungsoo does the gardening, I cook." 

“Kyungsoo? The chubby gardener who is plucking roses right now?” Baekhyun ventured. He had done a fair bit of spying from his window earlier. From his vantage point, the entire front lawns of the Cherry Vampire Manor was visible.

Jongin's eyes lit up, “Y-yes. That's the one.”

The aristocrat inwardly smiled, and stood up. “Jongin, will you direct me to the kennel?”

The way to the kennel was through a patch of woods, on a thin man made trail running haphazardly around the snow-covered trees . “Follow Master's footsteps and you'll be there.” Jongin had said.  _ There _ was nowhere near, Baekhyun realised.

The aristocrat had to trudge quite a bit, but thankfully, Baekhyun had bundled up in the heavy scarlet abomination that Jongdae had given the night before. Birds chirped on the treetops, shining green and blue, and for a while, the young aristocrat imagined himself to be the only inhabitant of these woods. 

Just as the trees around him began to thin, the kennel came into view. It was built entirely of wood and resembled a stable.

The silhouette of Park Chanyeol also came into view, and Baekhyun took pause at the edge of the woods, hand lingering on the bark of the tree closest to him, feet unwilling to take him forward. What could he do, what would he say? What was there to say between two people who were near perfect strangers. Did vampires exchange pleasantries? Did vampires care about twenty somethings born yesterday. 

  
  


It was a misty morning in this area, more grey and wet than clear and sunny. He could not tell if the vampire had sensed him yet.

The hounds gave the first indication of noticing his presence, growling and struggling, fighting to break free from Park Chanyeol's invisible restraint to launch themselves at this insolent human. Baekhyun's breath caught in his throat at the beastly size of the hounds. They were at a distance, and he couldn't tell if it was a play of the morning light, or some trick of the cold wind, or ancient magic, but the eyes of the hounds sparkled red. 

He  _ could _ tell that they did not want him here.

Then, as if he sensed Baekhyun's presence only that very moment, Chanyeol turned around to look. Baekhyun could swear that in that second, the vampire's eyes shone red as well. 

Baekhyun deliberated whether he should approach the deathly hounds. And Park Chanyeol, vampire of old, more dangerous that the dozen hounds by his side, shook his head when Baekhyun was about to take a step in his direction. 

The aristocrat froze. “Stay there.” Chanyeol said, effectively stopping the human. Baekhyun stared back, catching his breath, his hand gripping the tree bark hard. He could not breathe until the vampire turned his attention back to his beasts. He felt invisible then, eaten up by the surroundings and the aura of the larger than life Park Chanyeol.

Baekhyun had always preferred to be invisible, a few paces well removed from the centre of attention. Growing up under the shadow of someone as celebrated as Lady Tiffany, it had been an easy thing to do. He felt good at being overlooked, because then he would not have to pretend. He could smile and melt away in the blurry sidelines. So what if people thought he had no real personality of his own, that he could not hold a candle to the dazzling Lady Tiffany. He did not need to. He did not need to be stellar, he could be simple. It was not a sin to be simple.

His personality had never been bright enough to force a man to look at him, he had never demanded on previous occasions that someone look at him. Rather, he had prayed for people to overlook him.

But standing at the edge of what felt like a fairytale, he had a complaint for the first time in his life. Baekhyun felt invisible. He felt colourless, translucent, as though his red overcoat was duller than the pale white of the surroundings. 

Park Chanyeol had looked at him and looked through him and looked away from him. It made him feel like he had no form of his own.

_ Park Chanyeol had so much power! _

He had never seen such a sight, he would never see something like this ever again, would he, for he was ceasing to exist. When Park Chanyeol turned his eyes away just then, Baekhyun ceased to be. 

Only Park Chanyeol existed in that moment - a vampire crouched beside his hounds, pale white snow stretching endlessly around them, the sky an unblemished blue - deadly beasts around a man that defied beauty. Baekhyun could look at this single picture forever, and not be bored. 

Beauty would be no word to define his fiancé, Baekhyun realised, staring awestruck. The silver bangs that framed his face, large pensive eyes, so much power and strength that the vampire could restrain the hounds without physically restraining them -  _ bah _ ! beauty was for humans, vampires were not to be summed up in these base words. He, Baekhyun, was said to be a beauty. What a farce, when Baekhyun had never existed. Only Park Chanyeol had the right to live - and vampires were so hard to describe, so captivating, so dangerous. 

Chanyeol tended to his hounds, leaving Baekhyun to his silent wonder, nuzzling the creatures and murmuring words to them. It was clear that the vampire wanted him nowhere near. 

Baekhyun sighed, for a while debating if he should return to the manor. Then, the vampire slightly lifted his head, listening for heartbeats, and Baekhyun stayed. The aristocrat thought he had never seen a more arresting side profile. And he was so arrested in that moment.

He watched as the vampire quietened his hounds, patted them, fed them meat from a tin bucket, and chuckled at them. Baekhyun counted five bloodhounds, larger than average size, all without any chains binding them. They were both majestic and foreboding.

The vampire again cast a sidelong, slow glance at him, hand over one ferocious pet. 

If Baekhyun could think in that moment, he would think that the vampire was even more handsome under natural light. But he couldn't, so he stared back slack jawed. It doesn't matter that I stare, he told himself, I am invisible, I don't exist. This, this old vampire was  _ his _ fiancé, had claimed  _ him _ for whatever reason. The thought was so very flattering at that moment. Baekhyun felt ashamed of his thoughts, relieved that no one could possibly know. Merely admitting such thoughts to himself was hard.

But when Chanyeol slowly turned around to look at him again, Baekhyun felt as though the vampire could eke out  _ exactly _ what he was thinking. 

Chanyeol was slightly frowning now. Perhaps, the vampire was giving an indication that he would like to be left alone, but Baekhyun stayed put. If he only had some personality, Baekhyun would shrug loftily and put on his aristocratic airs. But he had none at the moment. He had been reduced to ether, colourless and free, free enough to shamelessly ogle at a stranger. 

Sometime around late afternoon, when the manor was still, and Jongin the cook had dozed off to a blissful sleep in the front porch, with Kyungsoo the gardener reading to him on the steps, Baekhyun sought Kim Jongdae out. The aristocrat had been unable to pin the  _ loyal dog  _ until then, merely seeing or hearing snatches of Jongdae. 

The aristocrat found Jongdae counting large cartons of candy in the storeroom, pencil and a notebook in hand. Nobody stopped Baekhyun from tippy tapping around the manor so the young lad took it upon himself to count the corridors and very many rooms in the vampire's lair. That was how he chanced upon the  _ loyal dog,  _ hard at work in the storeroom. 

"Ah! People at leisure!" Jongdae rubbed his brow upon sighting Baekhyun's poking head, still counting the boxes on his fingertips, "I like seeing someone with no work to do! Your fiancé is such a task master, I didn't even have the opportunity to have lunch yet."

Jongdae sighed.

Baekhyun walked up to him, eyes going over the rows and rows of cartons filled with - 

"Chocolates!" Jongdae beamed. "Toffees. Candies. Lollipops. A shipment is due tomorrow to the Blessed Orphanage. The children won't mind if you help yourself to a candy."

Baekhyun shook his head politely, "I like savoury stuff better."

Jongdae blinked. "Master devours chocolates. He says it is the next best thing to bl- cough cough!"

Baekhyun looked away from the  _ loyal dog,  _ "Go on. You can say it. Blood. What vampire does not prefer blood!" His eyes went over the room, trying to locate hidden blood bags, if any, in the dark corners. He heard Jongdae shuffle beside him.

"Here. Take it. Master's fiance ought to eat Cherry Vampire chocolates, this  _ loyal dog  _ will not take no for an answer."

Baekhyun glanced at the medium sized paper box which was thrust upon him. " _ Cherry Kisses _ ? Cheesy name."

"Melts in your mouth." Jongdae said helpfully. "We also have Vampire Daddy, and Lickorice Love. But I surmised that  _ Cherry Kisses _ would suit you just fine."

"Um.." Baekhyun murmured, "Thank you."

Jongdae stood there grinning, as if he cracked a joke just then and Baekhyun could not figure it out. 

"You..you lied to me, didn't you?" Baekhyun stammered, then blushed a crimson red.

Jongdae's face became animated. "When have I lied to Master's fiance?"

"You said.." Baekhyun stopped himself, his hand going over the Cherry Kisses. They were packed in red wrappers. They looked rather adorable. "You said the vampire does not hoodwink, or hypnotise. You lied!"

"Did I?"

"Yes, you did. You did."

"Mmmmmmm. So, did Master hypnotise you?"

Baekhyun's hand sifted through the very many Cherry Kisses. "Earlier, I couldn't speak a word when I saw him. I just stood there, like a statue, unable to speak. It felt like..it felt like I was under some spell, like I had stopped existing! Your Master ..why must the vampire hoodwink me so? I just wanted to go see the hounds!"

Jongdae, who was trying to follow the aristocrat's low complaint, suddenly flared. " _ You went to see the hounds? All by yourself?" _

Baekhyun blinked hotly, "Jongin told me where to find them."

" _ Jongin told you where to find them!"  _ Jongdae's voice got shriller and shriller. "Well, he should know better, shouldn't he? He knows how fierce those hounds are. They do not like new people."

"Only because I asked." Baekhyun was beginning to feel some concern for Jongin now. "And Park Chanyeol was there with the hounds so-"

"Jongin is so careless, he should have cautioned you to keep away. Good thing Master was there. I swear all he cares about is flirting with Kyungsoo!" 

"He - who? Flirting with Kyungsoo who?"

"Jongin, who else!" Jongdae scribbled some figures in his notebook, then slowly said, "But why would Lady Tiffany's heir think his natural reaction to his fiance is because of hypnosis is the bigger question."

"Crass!" Baekhyun stated, turning to move away, then approaching the  _ loyal dog  _ yet again. "You said you will tell me about the great war." 

Jongdae made him wait for the answer.

"So I did." Jongdae closed his notebook. "Do you want to hear about it in this dark storeroom or do you wish to sit beside me while I have my lunch?"

  
  


Jongdae did not recount the events until after he had five or so chicken legs and a bowl of soup in his belly. "I am so old, I need to eat so much to keep up with all the work." 

"What a grandpa!" Baekhyun complained and half smiled despite himself. 

"If I am a grandpa, your fiance is a great great grandpa." 

Baekhyun rubbed his lips, "How old is he?" He kept his voice low fearing that the vampire might be prowling around the third floor with his enhanced hearing ability.

"Mm.." Jongdae counted in his head, and didn't bother to lower his voice. "If I were to state it out loud, won't you be grossed out? He is  _ much _ older than Lady Tiffany, that should give you an idea."

"Ancient." Baekhyun supplied.

"What's older than ancient?" Jongdae prodded.

"Ancient is older than ancient, I suppose." Baekhyun answered after thinking for a while.

Jongdae chewed on a chicken bone. "Vampires were creatures created in the twilight, and while your fiancé is not the first of them, he is still older than most of the people who form his circle today. Back then, during the 18th Century great war, he was..aah..you should have met him then. He was a pearl among pearls. Full of life! He would whisk youths away in the cover of the night and dance with them till dawn. The wine never stopped pouring, the songs never ended, the merriment would go on and on, the laughter. It was a good time."

Baekhyun wanted to ask if Park Chanyeol was not full of life any more, no longer a pearl among pearls. 

"Then your great great grandmother happened." Jongdae looked sharply at Baekhyun.

The young aristocrat bristled. "How do you mean? Did they.." Baekhyun lowered his eyes, "date?"

Jongdae let his bone fall for dramatic effect. "Is  _ that _ what you think?"

Baekhyun kept his eyes downcasted. 

The  _ loyal dog  _ sighed. "Thank goodness Master is over at the factory. He - I'm not saying he would eavesdrop on our conversation but this line of thought! Tut tut. Are you pure evil to think like this?"

Baekhyun raised his eyes. "And then what happened?"

Jongdae picked up the bone again, "Lady Tiffany and her contemporary aristocrats were all vampire hunters. They had vowed to put an end to the vampire menace."

"Was it too much of a menace?" Baekhyun asked. He would never dare ask Lady Tiffany this.

The  _ loyal dog's  _ eyes twinkled with malice. "Oh, you cannot even imagine those times. No one was safe, no one was spared. The voracious appetite, the bloodletting, the crazy orgys, the dead bodies found in pavements in the morning. It was a time for thrill seekers."

"Orgys." Baekhyun repeated.

Jongdae observed the young aristocract's expression. "Oh my, but you know so little about vampires. A tip from this grandpa. Why don't you put an end to all your curiosity by visiting the library? Master's library will answer all your questions. Orgies, yes. Vampires are sensuous creatures, sensual beings." Jongdae licked his lips. "They can arouse people with very little effort, and require very little prodding to get aroused themselves."

Baekhyun looked away yet again, imagining all the orgies his fiance must have been a part of, when he was a pearl among pearls. 

Jongdae went on. "So this was all getting out of hand. And all the aristocrats of those times were thinking of ways to keep the vampires in check. There were casualties on both sides. Your great great grandfather for example. He was killed by a vampire, sucked dry and left on the gates without clothes on."

The aristocrat was shocked. 

"Nobody talks about it. Lady Tiffany forbade it. Her husband was none too kind, it seems he had cheated on her multiple occasions with lowly servants and was found very often in pleasure houses and brothels." 

Baekhyun felt like someone was recounting a fantastic story, "Are you lying?"

"I have no reason to. But, your grandpappy's death gave Lady Tiffany the excuse to trick vampires to their death. You see, jilted wife she was, but also a very fiery vampire hunter. She wasn't mourning the loss of her good for nothing husband, nah. Not at all. She just wanted to use his death as an excuse to eliminate vampires. So, Lady Tiffany sent an invite to the most brazen heads of the vampire covens, asking for parleys. And among these vampires were people who were very dear to your fiancé."

"Who?"

"Who can tell? Lovers, brothers, friends, soulmates, I know not. But after Lady Tiffany poisoned them at her dinner table, and stabbed them later, Park Chanyeol swore revenge on your entire family. He killed several of your ancestors, but later came to know that Lady Tiffany despised those men anyway. His thirst for revenge could never be sated, until you came of course." Jongdae's eyes were tiny crescents of merriment.

Baekhyun shrugged. "Well, I think it's foolish of vampires to go wine and dine at a vampire hunter's dining hall."

"They could never have known they'd be reduced to ashes." Jongdae supplied.

"Why not?"

"They were  _ old,  _ Baekhyun. Old vampires have nothing to fear. A stake to the heart, a chemical mixture, nothing could kill them. Why should they fear at all!"

"Then how - "

Jongdae grew silent, pensive almost. "But do you know she passed on the chance to invite your fiancé to the parleys. Shielded him, almost."

".."

"Did Lady Tiffany tell you that?"

"I never asked."

"You should ask her the next time you meet, why she left your fiancé out. Her reason might surprise us all. But in the meantime, let's go ahead with my story. Things got to such an ugly head, and so much bloodshed occured, that the head of Master's coven proposed another truce. A truce in name and deed. Vampire's word."

"And Park Chanyeol? Was he happy with the truce?"

"It is hard to say. He went on a rampage, darkness had settled upon him then, one that he couldn't let go of till today. But Kim Junmyeon was the head of the coven, what Kim Junmyeon ordered, Master had no choice but to follow."

Baekhyun sighed.

"Kim Junmyeon proposed that since the mortals had struck such a terrible blow, thereby taking away many of their cherished ones, it was only fair that the vampires choose their partners from among the aristocrats. It was a bitter pill to swallow for the mortals, you know. Most vampires chose the prettiest girls from the proudest families, and who knows what became of them. It is not recorded."

Baekhyun was aghast. "It is horrible!"

"Horrible but both sides did agree to this truce. It was a hard won peace. Master was still seething. He was given the choice to wed one of the three daughters of Lady Tiffany." Jongdae giggled. "They were all pretty."

"And Park Chanyeol refused?"

"Point blank. He knew Lady Tiffany cared about her lineage and legacy more than anything else, he vowed to put a stop to it, and ensured that she would live to see the day." Here, Jongdae's storytelling took on a gossipy tone. "Old vampires are blessed with a boon. They say the God of Sleep himself gave this boon to the nightwalkers, but it is all heresy, so you may take it with a pinch of salt. One cannot verify this fact anymore than they can verify if their ancestors came from the land, air, sea or fire. A vampire can give the gift of long life to one person,  _ just the one _ . Master wasted it away on Lady Tiffany. Kim Junmyeon was smarter. He married a lively daughter from an aristocratic family and gave her the gift. Now Lady Seulgi and he are happily spending their days together. The sly sort like Oh Sehun have not given away this gift to anyone yet, and I don't think his kind ever will."

"Oh." Baekhyun merely stated, taking this in. 

"People who have aristocrat blood in their veins like you cannot be turned into vampires. If a vampire were to wish for an eternity with you, giving the gift of long life is the only option. But Master squandered it away." Jongdae appeared dejected. 

Baekhyun sighed along with the  _ loyal dog.  _ "Humans have a pretty long life too, Jongdae." It was as if he was reassuring himself. "Sadness, joy, hunger, love, laughter, a human experiences all of this and more in the span of a single lifetime. We do not need the vampire's gift of long life to get by. I don't. None of us do."

Jongdae contemplated silently, "Only time will tell that. Mortals and vampires, the stories of their entanglements always end up more than mere stories."

"Why would you think Park Chanyeol and I could be entangled like that? I am a mere device, there can be nothing more here. He was waiting to extract revenge for so long, and now he has finally achieved that. Getting entangled with me would be an insult to his long wait."

Jongdae appeared hurt. "That is no way to speak to a shipper, you know. Master's heart is not  _ that _ frosty, and mortals are capable of so many miracles. Hey, don't give up too soon. Tell me, when you look at Master, do you really not feel anything?"

Baekhyun didn't know what names to call Jongdae.

"Hey." Jongdae was relentless. "Your fiancé likes to pore over ledgers in the library every evening. You could start from there, your first step of many steps to dazzle Master."

The aristocrat clutched the box of Cherry Kisses and stood up. "Who even wants to dazzle him?" He was almost at the door when Jongdae asked, all serious and guarded in look. "Don't you want to know how Lady Tiffany managed to kill all the vampires?"

Baekhyun paused, and slowly turned around. Jongdae looked sombre for once. "She tricked a witch in aiding her, not just any witch. The most powerful witch. She shed tears and begged the witch to enchant a dagger that could kill a vampire. She said she meant to kill her husband's murderer. Who knew, Lady Tiffany would use a 'harmless' sleeping draught on her poor unsuspecting guests and proceed to stab their hearts with the dagger."

Baekhyun stared at Jongdae. "A dagger that can kill vampires like Chanyeol?"

Jongdae didn't say anything but stared meaningfully at the young aristocrat. 

  
  


Baekhyun climbed the stairs to his room, hid the box of chocolates from his sight and flopped on the bed. He stared at the ornate ceiling for a length of time, anxiety creeping in.  _ But you don't even exist for the vampire,  _ Baekhyun told himself,  _ what do you worry will happen _ ? He thought of how the vampire must hate the very sight of him, Lady Tiffany's heir, with her blood, her hair, her legacy! No wonder Park Chanyeol had left for the factory soon after breakfast, and hadn't returned since. 

In a vampire's lengthy life, a mortal's few score years were like mere minutes. Park Chanyeol could entirely avoid someone for fifteen minutes if he wished to. How hard could it be? 

_ Lovers, brothers, friends, soulmates -  _ Jongdae had recited offhandedly. Just who did Park Chanyeol lose? 

When dusk set, Baekhyun draped himself in heavy woollens and stepped inside the library. It wasn't cavernous like he had imagined, but rather small and cosy. Smell of parchment and dried roses mixed in close quarters to create a curious scent, not entirely unwelcome. 

Stacks of books were perched on all the shelves, which were neatly labelled. Baekhyun had just chosen a book for himself when he heard someone walk in. The tips of ears visible from under his muffler turned crimson. He turned, knowing very well who it was. 

The vampire stood by the door, and judging by his expression, Park Chanyeol had definitely not expected to find Baekhyun in the library. 

The young aristocrat automatically cleared his throat. "I hope you won't mind if I - " he waved his arms, shrugged, and fell silent. "spend the evenings here." he finally finished.

His fiance just stood by the door, not saying anything. Baekhyun's cheeks were burning now. 

"Are you sure you want to read that?" 

The vampire's patronising tone almost made Baekhyun bristle. He looked at the hard bound book again -  _ Sexuality and Vampires in the 18th Century,  _ it read. "Of course!" Baekhyun said, firmly defending his decision to read the book. 

Park Chanyeol scanned his face then, searchingly. Byun Baekhyun suddenly thought that it was a very bad idea to hang out in the library during evenings.  _ What do these looks even mean! _ What was he supposed to do with such an unreadable vampire. And Kim Jongdae wanted them to get entangled! 

"Find yourself a warm corner." the vampire told him before moving away. 

Baekhyun did find himself a cushy corner, one which left ample scope to furtively glance in the direction of the vampire. Park Chanyeol had quietly gone and occupied the only desk and chair in the library, while he himself sank to the carpeted floor, book open on his lap. 

It lay open. 

Byun Baekhyun could not have described this feeling in a hundred years, this feeling in the pit of his stomach as he kept glancing at the vampire bent over accounts. 

All vampires must be equally charming, Baekhyun thought, Park Chanyeol was no special case. That nose though - and that expression - those brows - that slight frown - 

The vampire straightened. Baekhyun hid his face in his book. 

"The book must be terribly boring." Park Chanyeol remarked.

Baekhyun did not look up from his book. "No, it isn't."

"Ah! I see. Then you must be an awfully slow reader." 

This time, Baekhyun did look up from his book, face wearing an expression of one who has been wronged. 

Park Chanyeol held his gaze, face smooth, before going back to his account book. "Forgive me. I only said so because in the past half an hour, I did not hear a single page turn."

The expression on Baekhyun's face deepened. He felt deeply wronged. The vampire was implying that - that his attention was elsewhere, that his attention was on  _ him! _ And although it was true, was it necessary to be so rude? He hastily turned a few pages in quick succession.

"It was quiet for some time." Chanyeol spoke again. "But now your heart is beating so loud and so fast, I cannot concentrate on my ledger. What am I to do?" 

Baekhyun looked at the vampire, looking wronged and kicked. "Do you want me to step out?" 

Chanyeol tilted his head, "It is fluttering so hard. Won't you relax?"

But Baekhyun's heart would not calm down, not with his fiance looking at him like that, like he was trying to figure Baekhyun out. "This book," he finally said, "contains so many lewd sketches." He took a deep breath, happy after shifting the entire blame on the book. He he. 

Park Chanyeol's eyes glittered. Baekhyun licked his lips. The vampire observed the movement. 

"Lewd sketches make your heart flutter?"

_ Definitely teasing! _

Baekhyun rose from where he was sitting. "I'm taking it upstairs to read. Where my fluttering heart won't get in the way of your calculations." 

The vampire said nothing but watched him gather up his woollens - the muffler from the floor, the beanie from the floor, the socks from several paces away. But when he was making his way past Chanyeol, his fiancé grabbed his hand and stopped him.

Baekhyun was so conscious of how hard his heart started beating them. "You're not getting in the way. Sit. Read. Ask if you have any questions. Stay."

Baekhyun did not shuffle out of Chanyeol's tight grasp. He did have a question. "Have you been to vampire orgies like the ones depicted in this book?" He thought Chanyeol would let go of his hand if he asked him weird questions like this. Or maybe he meant it as a payment for all the wicked questions Chanyeol had asked. 

The vampire did not reply at all, nor did he let go of Baekhyun's hand for the longest time. And when he finally did, Baekhyun quickly sped out of the library, red in the face, red in the nose, red everywhere. 

  
  



	3. Part Three - Rouge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part Three is here :) hurrah! It's called Rouge, like the lipstick shade. This fic is shaping up to be a little over 40k fic, me thinks. I was unwell this entire week, so I personally feel that the writing is all over the place, and incoherent. Not happy, really not happy. I wanted to include one more scene towards the end but my brain completely refused to co-operate. Anyway, I am rambling. Hope everybody had a happy Halloween :D Happy reading ♥️
> 
> Also, nobody hate on Oh Sehun please. He is a nice bachha. Give him some time. And Chanyeol is also a nice bachha. Give him some time too please uwu

  
  


Byun Baekhyun would often look out his window and feast his eyes over the vampire's lands, and wonder. As his stay in Cherry Vampire Manor stretched on, the aristocrat wondered very much whether this was real - the snow covered trees, the gigantic hounds, the lonesome manor. He wondered about the exact moment when reality slipped away from his grasp and he fell into an extraordinary dream. 

The noise of the city seemed an entirety away, he forgot what McDonald's was supposed to look like, how a crowded space felt. In Cherry Vampire Manor, everything was sparse - the people and the conversations. Sightings of the vampire were sparse too - Park Chanyeol was such an early riser, or did he sleep at all? He left for the chocolate factory at dawn and returned after dusk. 

The only time Baekhyun would actually feel alive, as alive as a forest fire consuming everything around it, was when the vampire would look in his eyes. The aristocrat thought that if he lay dying someday, with barely half a breath left on him, he could be brought back to full vitality if the vampire were to come glance at him then, even half a glance for a quarter of a second.

Everything about his new environment seemed unreal, except for Park Chanyeol himself. The vampire was real, much too real, so real that you wanted to touch him. But the vampire was mostly gone, and everything else was grey.

That is how Baekhyun felt in his first few weeks of stay in the Cherry Vampire Manor - like a blurry background image himself.

Then one day, he realised the truth. The manor was a madhouse, keeping appearances up only for the sake of Park Chanyeol and his fiancé. The manor was a madhouse, albeit only when the Master was away. In early mornings and late evenings, with Park Chanyeol in the house, everyone behaved like clockwork mice. Cook Kim Jongin wouldn't dare snooze, gardener Do Kyungsoo would not leave his flowerbeds, Kim Jongdae would speak in hushed, neutral tones. But as soon as the vampire left to rule over his chocolate empire, the mice would run helter skelter.

Baekhyun gradually caught on.

One day, Kim Jongdae had a thousand complaints, all targeted at Jongin - 

" _ The portraits on the second floor are all dusty _ ."

" _ Wipe the banisters clean or else -" _

_ "The silverware looks dull!" _

_ "What will Master say if he learns that you haven't mopped the first floor today?" _

And the cook cum cleaner cum errand boy grumbled right back - 

"Why don't you ask Master to hire more hands _ ?" _

"Hire more hands!" Kim Jongdae was livid, "so that you can slack around! The next time I find you flirting with Kyungsoo, PAY CUT!"

Byun Baekhyun found all this very exciting; finally people were arguing under Park Chanyeol's roof. He felt tingling in his fingertips. "What is all this commotion about?" he asked, fresh out of his bed from his afternoon siesta. 

The two Kims looked at each other, like they were caught red handed.

"Fine!" the loyal dog relented. "I'll tell you. But Master hears nothing about our little civil war."

The aristocrat would not have caught on, but for the  _ gathering!  _ The Gathering was a yearly event of the vampire community, a night of revelry for dinner, dancing and  _ drinking.  _ Discussions came after, if at all. This year, Park Chanyeol had ventured to host The Gathering. 

Byun Baekhyun learnt from the  _ loyal dog  _ that his fiancé rarely if ever hosted any gatherings, or get togethers. Hence, his measly servants were adequate in number to look after the manor and its upkeep. But with him acquiring a fiancé, it was only polite that he invite people over for drinks. And with twenty or so odd guests coming for the event, two servants suddenly seemed too less.

"Thank goodness only Kim Junmyeon is staying back. One guest staying over means that just one guest bedroom has to be readied."

"I have organised many do's at Lady Tiffany's. I could help." Baekhyun offered.

The  _ loyal dog's  _ fairy face turned green. "Master will cut my liver into tiny bits and feed it to the hounds if I make you work."

"In that case, Park Chanyeol doesn't have to know. I'm dying of boredom. I would love to help out."

So that is how Baekhyun found himself supervising the cleaning of the attic, and the readying of the guest bedroom. He made up a list of hors d’oeuvres that should be served at The Gathering, and also helped Kim Jongdae decide on the chinaware and cutlery. 

He also helped Kyungsoo change the heavy curtains in the study. All in all, it was tough work maintaining a manor.

That evening, Byun Baekhyun felt like a part of a real team as Jongdae, Jongin, Kyungsoo and he brushed off the dust in all the flower vases on the ground floor. But as soon as they heard the vampire's car on the pavement, Jongin rushed to the kitchen, Jongdae rushed to the porch, and Kyungsoo smilingly forced Baekhyun to abandon his brush and vase and sit on the couch with a magazine. 

When Park Chanyeol walked inside his house, everyone seemed to be engrossed in doing their own thing. The vampire took a deep breath to fill his lungs with the scent of roses, and Baekhyun looked up from his magazine. Their eyes did not meet. 

Much later, the aristocrat found himself turning pages of a thick tome -  _ Fifty Most Influential Vampires of The Century -  _ in the library _ .  _ It was post dinner, and the servants had retired to their quarters. Sometimes the vampire joined him for dinner, sometimes he didn't. Today, he hadn't. Baekhyun had smuggled a piece of cheesecake inside the library even though he surmised that food was probably a sacrilege here. However, the vampire walked inside the library just as Baekhyun made to gobble the cheesecake and between Chanyeol and cheesecake, our young protagonist chose Chanyeol. The cheesecake lay forgotten.

Sometimes they made small talk. Today, there was silence. But Baekhyun was smiling, suddenly on a sugar rush of his own out of nowhere. He turned the pages until he came to  _ No 9 in the list of most influential: Park Chanyeol.  _ There was a whole chapter dedicated to the vampire, and Baekhyun chuckled soundlessly, without realising that he had let out a tiny sound, making the vampire in the room look up. 

Baekhyun read the book, rapt, eyes shining, a slight flush creeping up his cheek, unaware that his fiance stared at him for a speck of time. The vampire eyed the human keenly, curiously. Chanyeol's brows were puzzled for half a second, because it was rare for the human to pay such attention to any book. Most often, the human's attention was trained on him. He wondered what troublesome book Baekhyun had picked up now; he had already asked  _ the loyal dog  _ to clear the library of all the racy titles, the books he deemed Not Safe For Baekhyun. 

The aristocrat was unaware of all the curious thoughts floating in the vampire's mind. He was reading about Park Chanyeol, from a well researched article that eulogised all past achievements of the vampire - 

_ -broke free of Kim Junmyeon's coven to start afresh, single mindedly building his chocolate empire _

_ eligible bachelor _

_ reclusive _

_ close family friends with Kim Junmyeon _

_ Oh Sehun's mentor and most vocal support _

_ against forced turning of mortals _

_ man of few words _

_ chief contributor to the Vampire Code .. _

  
"Are you planning to eat that cheesecake?" Park Chanyeol's sudden voice made Baekhyun shut the book close in surprise. 

".."

The vampire was looking at him, and judging by the stance, may have been looking at him for some time now. 

"Cheese - cheesecake?" 

Chanyeol nodded. "I can smell cheesecake."

"Oh!"

"Are you going to eat it?"

"Maybe in a bit."

"Mind sharing?"

".."

"I have a sweet tooth." the vampire explained with a straight face. He did not wait for an answer but walked up to Baekhyun, and lifted the abandoned cheesecake from beside Baekhyun. "Cheesecakes are superior." the vampire said, maintaining eye contact with the aristocrat and eating a generous spoonful. "Want a bite?"

Baekhyun nodded. "Mm." He saw Chanyeol cast a slow and shrewd glance at the book on his lap. Sometimes the vampire acted very clever. 

The vampire fed him a spoonful before he could protest. He liked his dessert in tiny licks, not hefty bites. 

"I was reading up on Kim Junmyeon, and Kris Wu, and Oh Sehun." Baekhyun lied through the cheesecake. 

Park Chanyeol helped himself to another generous spoonful. "Oh." 

Baekhyun did not think that the vampire stretching the syllable was a very good sign.

"So..what do you think of Kim Junmyeon, Kris Wu and Oh Sehun?"

Baekhyun stilled, feeling goosebumps spreading across his flesh. Good heavens! He hardly knew two things about these vampires. "How do you mean?" he stalled.

The vampire leisurely finished off the cheesecake. "You read about them. I just want to hear your thoughts on them. Who do you think is the most influential out of the three? They are all very good confidants of mine, I have my own bias. I'd like to hear from a neutral person, you."

Baekhyun was having trouble cooking things up, the vampire's face was so very close to his own, a Mount Everest sized distraction. He would rather gaze at that nose mole. "Kim Junmyeon." he answered, trying to be vague, eyes resembling a cornered deer's.

Chanyeol plucked the book from Baekhyun's grasp. "And Kris Wu? What do you think of him?"

".."

"Don't you think he is ugly, and old?"

".."

"Isn't he as fat as a pig?"

Baekhyun nodded vigorously. "Oh so ugly." he added.

"And Oh Sehun?"

".."

"Don't you wonder how vampires could be so ugly?"

"Oh yeah, very ugly." Baekhyun kept nodding. "Extremely so."

Park Chanyeol took the empty plate away. 

Once the vampire took his seat and got back to his calculations, Baekhyun quickly jumped to the chapter marked _No 13_ _in the list of most influential: Kris Wu_

His jaw dropped.

Kris Wu was anything but ugly if the picture was to go by. 

Suspicious now, the young aristocrat turned the pages until he got to  _ No 41 in the list of most influential: Oh Sehun.  _

His face fell. Oh Sehun was like the definition of youth and beauty,  _ a fountain of youth and beauty _ ! Immersed in his new discovery, he did not notice the vampire eyeing him. Park Chanyeol had a twinkle in his eyes when he finally turned away. 

Byun Baekhyun was red in the face, but he did not mind the leg pulling. This teasing only meant that he was allowed a tiny glimpse into the Chanyeol of a bygone era - the one who danced with youths till dawn, the pearl amongst pearls. He wasn't of much use to the vampire, he was not a fiancé in the true sense of the term, will never end up being that person either, which was all very well. 

Park Chanyeol's aloofness during the days gone by had drilled this into Baekhyun's head - he was never going to be a friend to the vampire, never ever. Not even a warm companion. He would always be kept at a polite distance. So, Baekhyun liked such rare moments when Chanyeol took the initiative to tease him, even at the cost of his own loss of face. 

Baekhyun looked at the vampire currently worrying his brow over calculations. Lady Tiffany indeed wronged Chanyeol if she took away someone who meant the world to him.  _ Lovers, brothers, friends, soulmates.. _

If Baekhyun had a person closest to his heart, and they were taken away forcibly, he would be devastated as well. Thankfully, he had none. The aristocrat looked at the vampire, sadness creeping in his eyes now.

  
As soon as Park Chanyeol left for the factory the next morning, the manor descended into madness yet again. Kim Jongdae was shrieking orders at Jongin and Kyungsoo, and those two were yelling right back. There was much work to be done, chandeliers to be cleaned, laundry to be done, wine casks to be extracted from the storage cellar, stuff to be hidden away in the closet, it was a never-ending mess. 

This did not resemble a spooky vampire manor at all.

Byun Baekhyun took charge. He forcibly made Kim Jongdae sip a cup of chamomile tea. "Relax, you. What are you getting so hyper for? There is a whole week left for The Gathering."

"A whole week until Master wrings my neck for the incompetence of those two."

Baekhyun laughed. "How can that be? I've never seen him scold anyone."

_ The loyal dog  _ looked at him curiously. "That's right! You haven't, have you? You actually have no idea what a temper he has!"

"That's rubbish!" Kyungsoo said, helping Jongin knead the dough for lunch. "Master has never raised his voice at us."

Jongdae sipped his tea, unfazed. "Be thankful I always cover your worthless skins."

Baekhyun giggled, happy in the knowledge that at least he will never invite the wrath of the vampire. He was the most ideal house guest. He never got in the way, or created difficulties for others. He would never have to worry about Park Chanyeol's temper.

That evening, Jongin and Kyungsoo carried a sackful of silver to their quarters, in order to polish the items as per Kim Jongdae's express orders. Jongdae stuffed the sack to the brim with tea sets, tankards, bowls and candle stands. Baekhyun felt sorry for the two, and offered to help. 

Jongdae would not allow it at first, but Byun Baekhyun prevailed. So, around dusk, the aristocrat walked to the servant quarters and helped the two simpletons dip the silverware in distilled vinegar, and later wipe the items with soft cotton cloth. Kyungsoo made tea and Jongin cracked the jokes. Baekhyun realised that he really liked the company more than anything. Jongdae was clever, Jongdae could lay traps, but these two were really sweet and simple. Baekhyun laughed a lot, and later, two fat tears rolled down his cheeks. He wiped them away quickly.

It was late when Baekhyun finally left for the manor, and chilly to boot. Jongin wanted to walk him home but Baekhyun vehemently refused. "It's a cold night. Stay indoors, please. I'll get to the manor just fine." Jongin would perhaps not have let him walk alone if he wasn't so sure that these grounds were perfectly safe. 

Cold and pensive it may be, but Park Chanyeol's Cherry Vampire estate was very beautiful, even at night, especially at night. You felt like you were at wonderland, except you were not. It was still a vampire's lair, and there was much to be uneasy about. Nights were meant for nightwalkers. And just as well, Byun Baekhyun did see the vampire prowling around at night. He was about to reach the lawn, and slip inside the manor quietly, when he saw Chanyeol saunter out of the front doors, not even in his winter clothes, not even pretending that he was a human. 

The vampire's pale white shirt was glowing an eerie silver in the dark. Considering all things, Baekhyun should not have followed him into the woods, but the part of him that had always wanted to learn more and more about the vampire took over and prevailed. And that is how the aristocrat found himself in the woods. 

Baekhyun was not scared of being found out, he was rather thrilled. This, he thought,  _ this  _ was more like living with a vampire, this quickness in his heart, this sense of foreboding and adventure. What would he not do to feel like this -  _ alive _ ! Trailing the vampire on a night like this, getting his heart beating into a mad frenzy like this, feeling the night air on his nose and ears, the specks of sudden snow on his cheeks, Baekhyun was desperate for it all. Life was dancing a little ways ahead, all he had to do was extend a hand and grab it, not let it out of sight, and then he could live, then he could finally exist, then he could breathe. Oh the joys of being alive! He wanted to feel it all.

They walked for a long time, the vampire some way ahead, the mortal trailing behind. And then, the vampire wasn't walking anymore. He came to a halt. Standing so tall like that, so lonesome, under the blue haze of the full moon, he looked so unreachable. Baekhyun's eyes turned watery. If he had a lot of happiness of his own to plunder away, Baekhyun would collect all the merry wisps and offer them up. But he had nothing.

They both waited.

And soon, as though pulled to the site by some invisible string, a stag came staggering. 

Baekhyun shivered. The air turned chillier.

He realised what was happening, what was going to happen right there, in front of his very own eyes. He did not know if he was prepared for it - Park Chanyeol feeding on blood. He took tiny steps towards the vampire as the creature stooped over the animal, a horrible crunching sound filling the air as sharp canines tore into the flesh of the animal. 

Baekhyun's skin crawled.

The stag made no sound, forced to stay still by the vampire's hand. Magnetism. The animalistic sound his fiancé produced while drinking blood forced Baekhyun to his knees, the great swallows the vampire took of the draught made Baekhyun flinch. 

The aristocrat sat lifelessly on the ground, his cheeks gradually turning wet. He did not know who he was shedding tears for - the vampire, the stag, or himself. Or the lives lost many hundreds of years ago -  _ lovers, brothers, friends, soulmates.. _

He had known all along that his fiancé was a bloodsucking vampire, a  _ creature,  _ a  _ monster _ ! But this.. _ this _ ..coming face to face with the truth, seeing this other side of Park Chanyeol, Baekhyun was ill equipped for this. 

Park Chanyeol was someone who ate cheesecakes and chocolates, that too in such an elegant manner that it put Lady Tiffany to shame. He wore the best bespoke suits, regal from head to toe. 

And here he was, drinking blood from a poor harmless creature, grunting from the satisfaction of it. 

Baekhyun remained sitting until he couldn't anymore. Slowly, he got up to leave. He had a feeling that his heart had broken today, although why it should be so, he knew not. Just as he had taken two steps away, he heard the stag's body fall to the ground with a  _ thud! _

"Leaving already?" 

Baekhyun closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He did not get to take a second. The vampire approached him and held him upright by the arms. He tried backing away but was held firmly in place by the predator. In the dark, Chanyeol's expression was masked but the grip on his arm was tight. 

The next thing he knew, he was dragged to where the stag lay dying. Baekhyun protested and struggled against the vampire. "Please." he said, weakly.

"Look very closely." Park Chanyeol said, anger in his voice. "Look as closely as how you look at me from behind your books. This is me. This is my true nature. This is who you live with. Open your eyes, Byun Baekhyun. I am asking you to look. Look at me now.  _ Now!  _ When I am perfectly embodying my true self, why won't you look?"

"Please." Baekhyun begged, louder now, his eyes frantic. " _ Please _ ." He didn't want to see this, he hadn't wanted to spy on this other side of Chanyeol. He struggled a bit more. The vampire calmly let go his arms.

The smell of fresh blood and torn animal flesh made Baekhyun retch and heave. He swayed on the spot, at a loss.

"Scary, isn't it?" Park Chanyeol again reached for his arms, this time to steady him. 

Baekhyun opened his eyes, trying to make out the vampire's features in the dark. It was thrilling. Scary. He felt like his heart would fail him then. He knew then that he had never been truly allowed to look at the vampire earlier. Civility is a mask. This entire charade of owning a chocolate factory and lording over the factory workers was a subterfuge. Park Chanyeol, up close and personal, was a dangerous mix of fear and anger. A deadly, terrifying concoction that was as far removed from a human as a thorn is from a rose. 

Held so tightly and intimately, faces so close to each other, Baekhyun could tell that the vampire was angry, and turned on by all the blood sucking that had occured prior. Baekhyun tried to say something but no word would come out.

"What? Scared?" There was a sneer in the vampire's voice. 

Baekhyun shook his head. "Take me away from here please. Please." His fingers grabbed the thin material of Chanyeol's shirt.

"Disgusted?" Chanyeol asked, still holding him close, his tall frame shielding Baekhyun from the cold. 

Baekhyun finally found the words. "It was deliberate. You did it deliberately, didn't you? You deliberately led me here, knowing I was following you. You..you are cruel."

Chanyeol held the human tighter, tight enough, close enough that he could whisper in the other's ear. "It's cruel on you now, but it would be more cruel to keep you in your ignorant state. Wake up. Look at me. Look at this depravity. Don't I disgust you? Huh? Am I not terrifying?" 

The vampire bared his fangs, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. The vampire sounded a little angry, a little turned on. 

Baekhyun felt himself sliding against the vampire's body, downwards. Chanyeol forced him back on his two feet.

A warmth was beginning to spread across Baekhyun entire body at the vampire's closeness, the tight grip, the breath on his ear. He looked right into Chanyeol's burning bright eyes, and let go of the shirt. His fingers left the soft material and trailed upwards, past the wide shoulders, past the cold column of the vampire's neck. 

Baekhyun felt his fiancé's cheeks, his touches featherlight over the cool skin. No, he thought, he was not disgusted. He touched the tip of the nose and let his fingers fall to those full lips. 

"Blood makes me queasy." he whispered, pulling his fingers away. He fought to speak in a clear voice. "You don't disgust me, it's just the blood!"

The vampire considered his answer.

"Byun Baekhyun, learn your lesson while I am still in a mind to teach." Chanyeol warned. "I could bleed you dry, and leave you here to rot."

"You wouldn't."

"I wouldn't?" Chanyeol returned. "If only you could tell, if only you could sense, how much I want to  _ ruin _ you right now, how much I am dying to sink my fangs in you, how much I want to see you on the ground in place of this animal."

"True." Baekhyun said. "I might be someone you want to ruin." He took a deep breath, and became aware of the fact that their bodies were still stacked together. "I am a good judge of character. You ------ bloodsucker! That is who you are."

Silence.

"You are vampire! I  _ know _ that. I am not under any illusion. You don't have to dispel _ any _ illusion by setting up a morbid scene like this! But I have faith that you aren't evil. On that, you cannot change my mind."

Park Chanyeol slowly eased his hold on Baekhyun but the aristocrat did not walk out of the vampire's arms. 

"Your grandmother thinks we are evil, that all vampires are evil."

"I am not my grandmother." Anger laced Baekhyun's tone now. "I am Byun Baekhyun. Maybe it is  _ you _ who ought to look closely." He walked out of Chanyeol's warm hold, putting distance between them. "Maybe  _ you _ are the one who needs to take a closer look, not me."

The aristocrat gently pushed at Chanyeol's chest with the flat of his palm. "I'm going back to the manor. You should give the stag a proper burial." 

Vampires were cold creatures? What a load of nonsense, Baekhyun thought as he marched back towards the manor. Chanyeol was passionate, dripping passion the colour of red roses. Contact with the cherry vampire could scald, burn, leave a scar. The cherry vampire was a product of passion, Chanyeol would probably kiss with a lot of passion, and his lovemaking would be just as passionate. Maybe Park Chanyeol was more alive than him. 

  
Park Chanyeol's esteemed guests arrived one starry night in ones and twos, all merry and noisome. Baekhyun spied on all the newly arrived guests from his window, looking on greedily like a child who could only stare at the display, but not touch. As much as The Gathering was being held to mark the occasion of Park Chanyeol acquiring a fiancé, the vampire of the manor had banned Baekhyun from meeting and greeting any of the guest.

The young aristocrat had of course put up a small resistance but a single  _ 'doesn't blood make you queasy?'  _ from the vampire's mouth had effectively silenced his protest. 

Blood made him queasy, and it was a gathering of vampires afterall. 

Kim Jongdae would not help either. He was here to latch the door to Baekhyun's bedroom from the outside. "Master absolutely wants you to remain in your chamber. You must not come downstairs. There'll be _drinking, _and gambling! Besides being all kinds of unsafe for you, Master does not want you to get a permanent scar from the festivities. Kim Junmyeon is staying over, you can meet him over breakfast tomorrow. He is civil. Old. The others, Master worries that they would not be able to control their thirst when they inhale your scent."

"My scent? It can't be all that appetising!" Baekhyun thought back to that time in the woods when Chanyeol and he were so close, and the vampire's fangs were still bared. Either Park Chanyeol had remarkable self control or his scent was downright unappealing.

The  _ loyal dog  _ was amused. "Master hasn't talked about your scent with me. I wouldn't know either."

Baekhyun peered through the thick curtains; someone had just arrived in a yellow Rolls Royce. "He never even looks at me." 

"You've never caught Master looking at you." Jongdae corrected.

But the young aristocrat was too busy spying on the newly arrived guest. 

"Come away from the window. It is rude to stare. They'll sense you, and then it will get awkward. Besides, Master told me your heart flutters really loud, or is it only when your fiancé is near?"

"Tchh." Baekhyun dismissed. He was loath to discuss his fiancé this evening, all because Park Chanyeol had proposed locking him up on the second floor. "Come here. Isn't that Oh Sehun?"

The  _ loyal dog  _ ran to the other window. "Vampire's fangs! Why, it really is Oh Sehun. Unbelievable! He did not even RSVP to The Gathering. Who does he think he is, showing up on the front door like that." Jongdae whispered through gritted teeth, afraid his words will float downstairs and reach the young vampire's ears. "I better get downstairs. And you, come away from the window please."

Baekhyun grudgingly walked to the bed and flopped on it, bedroom slippers sticking out in the air.

"I'll send refreshments." Jongdae promised, locking the door.

"I'll write to Lady Tiffany and tell her about this." Baekhyun grumbled. Nobody told him he would be confined to his room the day vampires descended on Cherry Vampire manor. He had seen a fair amount of well turned out people, but the vampires tonight were so queer and quirky, wild and wanton, Baekhyun wanted to be amongst them. 

More than anything else, he wanted to see how Park Chanyeol conducted himself around his peers. Baekhyun had always been sweet tempered, unless pushed to a corner. He listened to the voice of reason, was malleable. But this was all very frustrating for our young aristocrat. 

Half an hour passed by and Baekhyun's frustration reached its peak. He was thinking of ways to climb down the window when - 

_ Click! _

The knob on his bedroom door turned. Baekhyun was lying face down on the mattress, his bedroom slippers still sticking up in the air. He did not care to turn but spoke grudgingly, "No, I don't want kebabs and hot Oreo shake! I don't want roasted beef. I don't even want to look at you right now."

A slipper slid from his feet and fell with a dull thump on the carpeted floor. "I just want to go see the vampires." He whispered against the mattress. 

"So what's stopping you now?"

Baekhyun turned and sat up on the bed in a flash. His wide eyes flew to the person at the door, to the unsmiling face of Oh Sehun. 

"You know me?" Oh Sehun, the 41st most influential vampire in the world, asked him.

"I read about you." Baekhyun answered, properly standing now, one foot fishing for the fallen slipper. 

Oh Sehun did not step inside the room but coolly surveyed him from a safe distance. Baekhyun stared back, taking in the bespoke white suit, and the yellow flower pinned to the lapel. This vampire really resembled the brightest yellow star in the sky. Handsome, in a way that would threaten people. 

"Chanyeol said you called me ugly." 

Baekhyun did not reply, internally wounded that Park Chanyeol would sell him out like this. His fiancé had deliberately avoided him ever since the night in the woods, but good to know that Chanyeol went around recounting Baekhyun's silliness to his vampire peers. 

"He told me he locked you up for the night. So, I had to personally come rescue the aristocrat in distress. What were you saying about not wanting kebabs and Oreo milk shake?"

Baekhyun raised his chin up.

"How old are you?" Oh Sehun did not laugh out loud, but there was laughter in his bottomless eyes. Clever eyes of a clever vampire. Lady Tiffany had warned him against vampires like Oh Sehun, the ones who said one thing with their mouth and displayed another thing with their eyes.

"Don't be scared of me, little aristocrat. I don't bite. I do, but Chanyeol forbade me to lay a finger on you. He is my mentor, I listen to his orders."

"I am not scared of you." Then, "Did Chanyeol turn you?"

Oh Sehun laughed aloud now, without mirth. "Don't you know your fiancé has a 'no turning' policy?" It looked as if the slim vampire wanted to approach him then. "You are Lady Tiffany's heir, yet you know so little. Ah, what a pleasure it would be to have this innocence ripped out of you, pulled out of your veins in delicious gulpfuls. I don't know why Chanyeol hesitates. He should treat you as his human blood bag already. He should have served you at The Gathering." Oh Sehun's expression turned hungry.

Baekhyun frowned. "Please leave." 

"Oh! Attitude? Nice. But you do know that the only thing stopping me from puncturing your throat is your fiancé?"

Liar! Baekhyun could see that Oh Sehun was unable to set foot in the room. "Leave." Baekhyun put distance between the vampire and himself. 

Oh Sehun's eyes turned sharp. "Vampire's fangs! That  _ is _ a crazy good scent. Come close."

".."

"I won't hurt you. Just come closer."

".."

"Rotten aristocrat." Oh Sehun finally cursed. 

Baekhyun glared back.

The vampire smiled at that. "Awww! I made you really angry, didn't I?"

".."

Oh Sehun rubbed his nape, "As delightful and punishing as it is to take in your smell, I  _ will  _ be in some amount of trouble if Chanyeol learns of this. So, I'll withdraw for now. Let's spar another day. As a gesture of my goodwill towards you, I'll leave this door open. You can step out for kebabs and Oreo shake."


	4. Part Four - Currant

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omona! Chapter Four is here. Please enjoy. Let me know how it is :D If there are any songs that you think go along with this fic, please let me know in the comments section. Everyone take care. Stay blessed. I'll be back next week. ♥️

So how are vampire gatherings really like? Does wine flow like the waterfall, bats hang in the ceiling, and buxom undressed girls sit every few chairs so that guests can partake in the vital fluid? The young aristocrat was immensely curious, his desire to see twenty odd vampires gathered around a feast currently fighting with his good sense. 

Good sense prevailed. 

Baekhyun paced around the room but would not step out of it. He was itching to know what transpired in the great hall downstairs but after seeing with his own eyes how crafty Oh Sehun looked from head to toe, and how Machiavellian the young vampire's manner was, Baekhyun argued that he should stay put. 

This was Park Chanyeol's manor, every inch, every crevice, every pillar and cranny. Having a room of his own where no vampire could set foot without permission warmed his heart. It came as a tiny surprise, brought with it a faint glimmer of warmth and hope which would not be chased away.

Even as Baekhyun debated whether or not to set foot outside the door, the  _ loyal dog  _ burst into his room with a gilded serving tray. He set the steaming tray on the pink ivory dresser at the foot of the four poster bed, all the while murmuring. "I  _ don't _ have time to pacify you, but try this Garlic Herb Butter Roast Chicken. Jongin poured you a Strawberry Rose Sangria. I really have no time to acknowledge your disdain. Hurry and eat." 

Jongdae hurried out the door. Jongdae hurried back inside. "Who opened the latch? How did you - who did you -?" The  _ loyal dog's  _ eyes darted from side to side, taking in the four corners of the room, looking for hidden helpers. 

Baekhyun stared at the roast chicken. "I  _ will  _ tell Lady Tiffany that you locked me inside my room."

The  _ loyal dog  _ threw him a sidelong glance.

"Oh Sehun came and unlatched the door." Baekhyun stabbed the meat with a fork. 

This was not music to Kim Jongdae's ears. "Oh Sehun has some gall. First, he won't RSVP and now, he won't listen to Master's  _ express  _ command to not terrorise you."

The aristocrat pursed his lips and blinked. " _ Terrorise  _ me? What am I? Sixteen?" 

"How old are you then?" Jongdae asked with his eyes closed, with a little shake of the head, like he was the fountain of wisdom.

"I am  _ twenty four _ !"

"Ha ha ha! You're saying it like that means something. In vampire reckoning, you were born yesterday. A newborn. A babe suckling on his mama's teat."

Baekhyun was affronted. "I'll show you baby suckling on his mama's teat!" he said hotly, before dodging the  _ loyal dog  _ and rushing out the door. He did not run downstairs though, creating a scene, but tiptoed one step at a time until he could peer through the handrail and observe what was happening downstairs. A new low for an aristocrat.

The  _ loyal dog  _ came and pinched his elbow hard, whispering urgently in his ear about propriety and good behaviour but Baekhyun suffered through the agony of getting pinched and did not budge. The  _ loyal dog  _ abandoned Baekhyun as a lost cause and hurried downstairs. 

Left alone to do as he pleased, Baekhyun pulled his knees to his chest and cautiously peered at the scene down below. Much disappointment! There were no bats, and clearly no damsels in various states of undress. It looked like a regular dinner; Baekhyun was very disappointed. Everyone was eating and laughing at once, the conversation low enough for Baekhyun's mortal ears to make out what was being said. 

Although it looked like a normal dinner, the general atmosphere of the scene was very chilling. The conversation was punctured with elegant movements of their heads, graceful lifts of their brows, and their teeth, their teeth were all very white. Even though they were turned out in the best gear, the feeling of decay still prevailed among the undead. 

Baekhyun made out Kim Junmyeon seated at the head of the ornate dining table. The vampire was beautiful. Baekhyun blinked a couple of times and pinched himself. If Chanyeol was a pearl amongst pearls, Kim Junmyeon was the rarest of all things that shined - a taaffeite! This was the person whose coven Chanyeol belonged to once upon a time. This was the vampire who proposed lasting peace between vampires and vampire hunters. An extraordinary visionary!

Baekhyun's eyes lingered on the vampire for some time admiringly, taking in Kim Junmyeon's mannerisms. The very fashionable emerald green coat only added to the persona. 

Next, Baekhyun's eyes fell on Oh Sehun; the vampire had his back turned towards him but the cockiness still somehow managed to seep out of that lanky frame. His eyes pored over the other guests and to his great surprise, most of them were very plain to look at. Why, a couple of them even sported white hair and ugly wrinkles! The young aristocrat had never before entertained the idea that ugly vampires existed; Park Chanyeol had been his first brush with a vampire and Park Chanyeol was all kinds of handsome, desirable even. The cherry vampire had set the bar so high.

Baekhyun let his eyes travel to his fiancé last, prolonging the moment for as long as he could 

Park Chanyeol was laughing, and it came as a shock to Baekhyun that his fiancé laughed, that something could so amuse him. The very next second, he felt like a fool for thinking that the vampire never laughed. Of course Park Chanyeol would be high spirited in his chosen company! Why would his fiancé laugh when cooped up in the library with a twenty four year old mortal born yesterday? Baekhyun was not even funny, he had no personality. He was like water that had to be poured in lovely crystal glasses to be of any value. On his own, who was he? He had always simpered under the shadow of Lady Tiffany, how could he ever compare to these vampires with a myriad stories of their own to tell? Baekhyun did not even know his own family's history properly. Oh Sehun probably had so many crazy stories to tell, Oh Sehun seemed like he had a thousand and one anecdotes.

Ah! His fiancé looked so happy, and quite comely too. The vampire had done something with his hair tonight, something different. He looked like an entirely different person when he laughed. Baekhyun smiled a bit when he saw his fiancé smile. This is perfect, he thought, please always keep smiling like this.

Baekhyun sighed, blinking his eyes and wishing he were down below, in the great hall, sitting beside Park Chanyeol, sipping from the wine glass, making people laugh. He could tell the exact moment when the vampire heard him sigh, because in that split second, his fiancé stilled. 

Byun Baekhyun turned to stone, and the seconds passed.

Park Chanyeol took a moment before slightly raising his head to stare directly into Baekhyun's eyes. Baekhyun stared back, his eyes like the window to his soul. The vampire dabbed the corner of his lips with a delicate silk napkin, before crushing it in his palm. Baekhyun had helped select the pearl grey napkins for The Gathering. 

He watched as his fiancé coolly stood up and bowed to his guests, speaking in a low voice. 

"This is extremely bad manners." Park Chanyeol said, once he elegantly glided up the stairs to where Baekhyun sat hunched.

"Locking me up in my room isn't bad manners? I'll write to Lady Tiffany." An empty threat. What would Lady Tiffany do? What could Lady Tiffany do to this extremely powerful vampire, someone who apparently wielded so much power? Chanyeol in his dapper suit and Baekhyun in his velvet pajamas, there was much discrepancy here. 

He was really born yesterday. How could he be a good match to a centuries old vampire. Were they joking with him when they weaved his fate; whoever they were, they must have had a good laugh. The mountain and the silly little breeze whooshing to meet the surface of that which had been strong and silent for thousands of years, how are they comparable? One unmoving, the other drifting away too soon..

The vampire quietly took a seat beside him. "You have to understand that there is a very definite danger to being exposed to vampires. Not everybody has self control. Leaving aside Kim Junmyeon, I really cannot vouch for anyone. Would you rather I put you at risk? Lady Tiffany would write me a three page letter if that were to happen."

Baekhyun hid his face between his knees. "Oh Sehun came and opened the latch," he continued in his muffled, hushed voice, "He said you should use me as your blood bag, that I should have been served at The Gathering."

This was followed by silence. 

Baekhyun looked up and stared at the perfectly calm face of the vampire. Time seemed to have paused solely for their benefit. "You should do that," he said softly, his gaze focused on the nose mole, "you should treat me as a blood bag. I am of little use to you like this." 

Park Chanyeol peered at his face, their noses almost brushing. "Are you drunk?" 

Baekhyun shook his head. "Why don't you do that? Oh Sehun said I smell good. Or is it just him? Is my scent repulsive to you?"

Park Chanyeol's black orbs turned scarlet. 

"Kim Jongdae said I am like a baby compared to you." Baekhyun hid his face in his knees again, "I don't want to be treated like a headless newborn. I am an adult. I am old. I am twenty four. You know how old twenty four is? I can vote. I can marry and have children. I can go to adult jail for murdering someone. I am an adult."

Chanyeol pulled back and asked with the slightest hint of a smile. "Is this how adults talk?"

Baekhyun flashed his angry eyes at the vampire. "Fine, then." he muttered, swallowing the rest of his complaints that were threatening to spew out of his mouth. He had one hundred thousand tiny complaints, but what could he do? How could he make a mountain budge? He was a tiny little breeze, a silent passerby. He would pass on, and Park Chanyeol would still be here, running his chocolate factory, writing and rewriting the Vampire Code, presiding over dinners, laughing with other vampires while he himself will be forgotten. 

"You are in a sullen mood." the vampire pointed out.

"Try being locked." 

"I apologise. This shall not happen next time. As for writing to Lady Tiffany, you can tell her your grievances when you see her next week."

Baekhyun looked up. "She's coming?" 

Chanyeol shook his head, his eyes on Baekhyun's, "She wrote to me, requesting that I allow you to visit her before she embarks on a tour across the globe. I have made arrangements for your travel."

Baekhyun slightly frowned. "For how long will I be gone?"

"For as long as you want." the vampire simply. Things were that simple for Park Chanyeol. "Seeing as how I imprisoned you in your own room tonight. I think this should count as adequate recompense."

The vampire was trying to make up to him, yet somehow it felt like Baekhyun was on the losing side. However, if Lady Tiffany was embarking on yet another of her world tours, it was only proper that he go see her. On previous occasions, Baekhyun had always been present at her Going Away parties. Friends, relatives, business partners, and members of Lady Tiffany's social circle came in droves to these parties - it was a real honour to receive an invitation. He could probably head back to Cherry Vampire Manor once Lady Tiffany set sail in her private cruise. 

A week. Baekhyun had a week left to pack, then leave. Park Chanyeol was carefully scrutinising his face, so he put on a fake smile, "I have something to look forward to now." Then, "Don't you ever visit the city?"

"I visit. Sometimes."

"When do you plan on visiting next?" Baekhyun asked, trying to keep his eagerness in check. He was hoping for something, he knew not exactly what, but his voice was hope filled. It made Park Chanyeol look away. 

"Right now, I have a lot on my plate. Exactly of this moment, I have to attend to my guests. Do you wish to sit here spying?"

"Tchhh! I wasn't spying!" Baekhyun felt very wronged, this vampire always made him feel wronged, "I just wanted to see what vampires look like."

"And now that you have seen what vampires look like?"

"I thought there would at least be one dead body."

The vampire's eyebrows twitched. "How macabre. This is a civilised place. With Jongin serving the guests, you honestly thought we would prey on humans?"

Baekhyun scratched his nose.

"How come Jongin gets to be there amidst the vampires but I am locked away? Why was I not invited to your gathering? Did you take my feelings into consideration at all?"

Park Chanyeol sighed. "I see that Lady Tiffany really taught you nothing. Am I to explain elementary things to you who were born yesterday?"

Baekhyun took immediate offense. He was about to stand up and leave but the vampire grabbed the hem of his velvet pajama shirt. "The reason you cannot sit with my guests is because your great great grandmother is directly or indirectly responsible for the death of their kin."

"Oh no!" Baekhyun's fingers flew to his lips.

"Oh yes! They won't take too kindly to your presence. Your family is not very well liked, didn't you know?" The vampire's eyes lingered on the slim fingers, his words very clear, very well articulated. "That said, another reason why you are unwelcome is because you have aristocrat blood running in your veins. Oh Sehun speaks very casually. Who would drink from you?" Park Chanyeol carefully plucked Baekhyun's hand away from his mouth and stared at the veins in the slender wrist. He did not say anything for some time. "Drinking from here, I would rather drink poison."

Baekhyun remained silent, very very hurt. Park Chanyeol could have easily skirted around the issue, where was the necessity to compare his blood to poison. He quietly pulled his wrist away. "I see." he said.  _ I am poison.  _ "I see now, how foolish I am! How can I be a part of your gathering when all of you probably hate me." He stood up. "You must barely tolerate me. I won't waste any more of your precious time." 

Park Chanyeol did not say either yes or no, he simply looked away. 

  
Baekhyun was hurting the next morning as well. The  _ loyal dog  _ was at the foot of his bed, trying to get him to come downstairs. "Master says Kim Junmyeon wants to greet you. You are to come downstairs for breakfast at once."

Baekhyun turned away from Jongdae, hugging a fat, fluffy pillow. "I don't want to greet anyone." He hid under the covers. "I don't want breakfast. I want to go home."

"You  _ are  _ going home next week though. Come on, Kim Junmyeon is waiting."

"I don't want to meet anyone!" Baekhyun declared, his words loud enough for keen vampire ears to catch.

Jongdae came closer to him and whispered. "Vampires's fangs! What are you throwing a tantrum for? WhatamisupposedtogotellMaster?"

Baekhyun sat up on the bed, "You can tell him," he began, a thousand barbs on his lips, then thinking better of it. He glared at the  _ loyal dog  _ instead. "I need to catch up on sleep. Why is it so cold at night? I couldn't sleep at all! It's spring everywhere else but this  _ stupid _ Cherry Vampire manor, always covered in snow. I hate it here. I want to go home."

".."

"It's a torture being here. Park Chanyeol hates having me here." Baekhyun groaned softly. "Well, I have news. I hate being here  _ more. _ I Hate It I Hate It."

Comprehension dawned on Jongdae's face, "Did Master say something last night?"

Baekhyun glared at Jongdae, "Go away. I don't want to see your face either."

The  _ loyal dog  _ did not go away. 

"He said…….he said……...he said.."

".."

"He said he would rather drink poison than drink my blood!"

" _ He did not _ !" The shipper was shattered.

"He did too." Baekhyun protested. "He said it with his whole heart. He hates me, doesn't he? He probably can't stand to look at me?"

"Tsk!" Kim Jongdae sat down beside Baekhyun, his voice turning reasonable. "If that were the case, he wouldn't have allowed you to tag alongside him everywhere."

" _ I don't tag along _ ! When did I - when have I -"

"Don't you?" the  _ loyal dog  _ asked, patiently waiting for an answer.

Baekhyun was on the verge of protesting, but then he recalled all the times he followed Chanyeol to the kennel in the mornings. Even though the vampire did not allow him to approach the hounds, he never asked Baekhyun to leave.

Baekhyun would always tag beside Chanyeol whenever the vampire instructed Kyungsoo on ways to tastefully manicure the lawns. If Park Chanyeol called for the carriage to take a round of his estate, Baekhyun would happily hop on uninvited. The vampire had caught him multiple times staring/stalking him in the library and had uttered no reproach. 

"You must think I am such a fool." Baekhyun sighed, falling back on the bed.

"Right now, Master is winning that battle."

"He does not like me staying here. He hates me, I know. He tolerates me because he wants to wean me away from Lady Tiffany. He says I can stay for as long as I want in the city. I don't think I will come back this year. I might not come next year either. I'll come back after ten years. Maybe I'll accompany Lady Tiffany on her tour."

  
Baekhyun left for the city next week. He thought Park Chanyeol would leave for the factory in the morning to avoid sending him off. But to his genuine surprise, the vampire accompanied him in the carriage till the main gates. Chanyeol even fastened the top button of his coat as they alighted from the carriage. "Stay safe." 

Baekhyun hid his hands in the coat pockets, waiting for Jongdae to load his luggage in the family car. "You too." he said, staring back at those large eyes, wanting to say something more but not knowing what. Why did it always happen to him. Why did he get so tongue tied around his fiancé. He felt sad all of a sudden, as though he was relinquishing hold on something essential. He wished these feelings were mutual. He wanted to say "I'll miss you" but the words tasted like bile even in the hidden corner of his being. What right did he have to say those words, especially when it was abundantly clear that he was a non entity around here. The vampire would laugh at the silly heir of his arch nemesis. 

Baekhyun felt a sting in his eyes and looked away. 

"Ready to go?" Jongdae asked cheerfully. The  _ loyal dog _ caught his expression then. "All good?"

Baekhyun's feet would not move towards the car. It was as if he was waiting, waiting for something  _ more _ , something that was so stingily given, something that had never been given if truth be told, something for which he had been parching all along. The aristocrat balled his fists inside the coat pockets and put on a cheery smile. "Take care, Jongdae." he said, and marched to the car.

He did not turn to look back. He was no beggar! 

As the scene shifted from snow covered lands and the rich, merry gaiety of spring became visible outside his window pane, Baekhyun longed to be back in Cherry Vampire Manor. He had begun to consider it as his home. He liked Jongdae. He liked Kyungsoo. He liked Jongin. He liked the lovely picturesque scenery that greeted his eyes every time he opened his windows wide. He liked climbing trees, dusting snow from the branches, (with Jongdae hollering "Get down") he liked sunbathing in the lawns, he liked helping Jongin with the housework, he liked asking hundred different questions to Kyungsoo on how to care for roses. He loved mornings in the woods, and evenings in the library. He liked playing the 'guest of the Manor', the 'Master's fiancé'. 

He would don a different hat in the city now - heir to Lady Tiffany's multi million dollar fortune. It was the heaviest hat he had ever donned. A burden. He was suddenly envious of Jongdae who had spent centuries beside Park Chanyeol.

*

  
**Notes : **

  * _meeting with cocoa suppliers went well, x tried to go back on his word, had to use a little coaxing_
  * factory workers happy with their half yearly bonus
  * the mortal left. he is gone
  * Donald's wife gave birth; sent him on six months' paternity leave
  * the mortal's scent is fading. it is strongest in his room but I can't enter
  * must transfer money to Sehun by Friday earliest

  
  
**Notes :**

  * _Sehun displeased because I forgot to transfer money; asked me if I was turning forgetful_
  * Billy wants me to buy a thoroughbred racehorse
  * consignment to German supplier stuck at customs
  * the mortal's scent is really gone

**Notes : **

  * _received an invitation to attend Lady Tiffany's party, wasn't a handwritten note. I wonder._
  * called Junmyeon for advice, he says I must go. 
  * this brings back triggering memories
  * will the mortal really come back after a year?

**Notes : **

  * _payment made to Sehun_
  * Junmyeon wants to accompany me to Lady Tiffany's
  * Sehun too
  * consignment to Germany finally on its way
  * the hounds were sniffing in the air, searching for the mortal's scent

**Notes : **

  * _must think of a name for my new thoroughbred_
  * _Bee? Beau? Baby?_
  * _new logo for Cherry Vampire chocolates soon_
  * somebody is bungling with my accounts, must put Billy up to it
  * this house is so silent

**Notes : **

  * **_going to Lady Tiffany's tomorrow._**
  * everything of hers is mine now
  * finally
  * why did I say his blood is like poison?
  * I want to drink straight from his little mouth, his ridiculously shaped lovely little mouth
  * the house is so silent

*******

  
Never in his wildest dreams did Baekhyun think that Park Chanyeol along with two other vampires in tow would so nonchalantly gatecrash Lady Tiffany's party. He was not aware of invitations being sent out to any of them. Their entry caused quite a furore, even among those that did not know they were vampires. 

Elderly women started Googling their names when they were presented in hopes of getting them to wed their grand daughters. Imagine their disappointment upon learning that Kim Junmyeon was married, and Park Chanyeol was betrothed to none other than Lady Tiffany's grandson. That left only Oh Sehun! 

One of the elderly socialites, well in her 70s and properly Botoxed, simpered in her thin voice. "I don't want to boast but I had a fling with someone who looked exactly like that Oh Sehun!"

"Mrs Jung, you are just cooking up stories now." the older ladies crooned. "Leave the young for the young. Why must you too jump in the fray? Didn't you have enough fun in your heydey?"

But Mrs Jung wouldn't budge. "I am not lying. It was Halloween, I remember because it was exactly two months before my wedding. A guy who looked like that young fellow approached me. Best sex of my life. He was dressed like a vampire, he had fangs."

The ladies guffawed. 

Mrs Lee motioned to the ladies to gather around, whispering like a busy bee. "You say Park Chanyeol is engaged to Byun Baekhyun. But why did Mr Park give the cold shoulder to his fiancé just now?"

The ladies investigated further.

"Oh look! Park Chanyeol's greeting to Lady Tiffany is so cold. Is he here just to scorn his hostess, Lady Tiffany, that too? Young fellows are all upstarts these days."

Another lady piped in. "They are not really grandmother and grandson. Is Lady Tiffany old enough to be a granny? They are distant relatives."

Mrs Jung nudged her neighbour. "Byun Baekhyun keeps glancing at his fiance."

"Yeah, he looks lost."

Mrs Lee could not keep her voice low, "I must get to the bottom of this delicious gossip. Let me go chat with Baekhyun."

  
Baekhyun had not recovered from the shock of seeing his fiancé here when gossipy Mrs Lee approached him. "Aiyah! Who knew you would go away and get engaged to someone without making a proper announcement."

The aristocrat gave her a polite smile. He had known Mrs Lee since he was a child; there was no shooing her away. 

" _ Show me the ring!"  _ Mrs Lee squealed, startling Baekhyun. 

Baekhyun had no answer and no ring. What engagement, he thought! What fiancé! Park Chanyeol barely nodded at him, would barely look at him. They were like strangers today. 

"No ring." Baekhyun laughed softly, faint pink tinge blooming on his cheeks. 

" _ How can there be no ring!"  _ Mrs Lee admonished. "You have the prettiest fingers. Didn't I always say your fingers deserve the world's best engagement ring?"

Mrs Lee waited for an answer, and Baekhyun was really embarrassed now. Lady Tiffany, brilliant, gracious, devious, mischievous Lady Tiffany came to his rescue then. "Dear Mrs Lee," she said, bubbly with youthful energy, "any person who has snagged Park Chanyeol has already bagged the greatest prize. Darling Chanyeol has already transferred all his assets in Baekhyun's name. A diamond solitaire is but a small matter."

Baekhyun looked at his great, great, great granny, eyes wide with surprise. Lady Tiffany pinched him.

Mrs Lee nodded sagely, her eyes growing round at this new piece of information. Meanwhile, Baekhyun's ears reddened at the lie. He was so sure the vampire was listening in. Mortification. 

When he turned to look, Park Chanyeol was indeed staring at Lady Tiffany. His great great granny smirked. "Literally  _ begged  _ for Baekhyun's hand. He waited and waited and waited for so long,  _ I finally _ had to give in to his wish. They're made for each other, aren't they? Park Chanyeol -" Lady Tiffany had to pause because the vampire came directly to stand in their midst.

Baekhyun's heart started a maddening beat.

"Please may I borrow Lady Tiffany?" he said very politely.

Baekhyun was relieved to see that the vampire was calm. To any casual onlooker, it would not seem that the two had a blood feud going on. Perfectly civilised. Like panthers. 

"Forgive my bad manners." Lady Tiffany handed her empty wine glass to Baekhyun, "I did promise to introduce you to all my esteemed guests. Baekhyun please entertain Mrs Lee. I'll show Chanyeol around."

Baekhyun looked on pensively as his grandma and fiancé linked arms with each other and went on a tour around the hall, greeting and meeting guests. At least they were civil with each other, Baekhyun thought, somewhat relieved. But a little knot formed inside his heart and twisted and twisted, forming a tangled mess. 

He did not even realise when Oh Sehun brusquely dismissed Mrs Lee from his side (or  _ coaxed _ her) and came to mess up his heart even more. 

"You look terrible. Cheer up." 

Baekhyun pulled his gaze away from the two people he was scrutinizing. "Go away."

The young vampire's lips curled downwards. "Junmyeon found someone he knows. Chanyeol is busy sparring with your granny. Won't you keep me company?"

The aristocrat sighed. "Very well. What do you want? Do you want a glass of wine or something?"

Sehun drew closer. "Nooooooo. I just want to chit chat with you. Am I so despicable? I left the door open for you that day but you never came downstairs."

Baekhyun backed away. Sehun came closer and closer until Baekhyun had his back against a tall flower vase. "Park Chanyeol said most of you hate me. I returned to my room that night."

Sehun properly studied Baekhyun's face. "Did you ever consider the possibility that Chanyeol might not have wanted to share you with anyone else?"

Baekhyun snorted. "You speak as if Chanyeol cares."

"Any vampire would hate sharing his person's scent with other vampires." Sehun winked, as if the two were conspiring. 

"I am not his person." Baekhyun said, with a hint of a grudge.

Sehun's smiled. "That's right. You are not. And you will never be if you keep getting demoralised like this. A tip from a well meaning friend - get into his space, cause him discomfort, pursue him, see if he can keep you at bay. See if he can resist your scent if you come on to him strongly."

Baekhyun tried to free himself from the little corner he was jailed in.

Sehun flicked his forehead.

"It is a foolish person who does not take the advice of friends." the vampire's eyes narrowed, voice dipping very, very low. " _ Seduce  _ him, Byun Baekhyun. Seduce the fuck out of him. Vampires are easily seduced. Heck, we are horny all the friggin time. Show him some skin, show him your ass. Grab him, bite him."

"Huh?" Baekhyun couldn't believe his ears. Steam poured out of them. He wished Mrs Lee would come and rescue him then.

Sehun tut tutted. "You have no idea what I am talking about. I see. I see. Don't you know any seduction techniques? _ Are you really that annoying _ ?"

".."

The young vampire rolled his eyes. "Vampire's fangs, Baekhyun! I am trying to help here."

"Why would you try to help me?"

"Keep guessing."

"You..your face is so untrustworthy!"

"And your face isn't any good either. But because I have Chanyeol's best interests at heart, let me tell you something. Vampires are flashy." Sehun pointed at himself in the airiest of manners. "I am a prime exhibit. Sexy." Again, he pointed at himself. "Either always being seduced, or doing the seducing. Even ugly vampires can seduce your Mrs Lee over there because we can  _ coax  _ people. You really think vampires live like monks?" His eyes went to Chanyeol, "Your fiancé is the monkiest of all monks. Bo-ring. You know, it could have been me. But your effing luck, you got Chanyeol. The most boring, most orthodox vampire in all of vampiredom. So, angry aristocrat, what I am trying to tell you is that if you don't take the initiative, you'll lose the chance of being fucked by a vampire."

".."

Sehun drew even closer, now whispering in Baekhyun's ear, "Play along, little rabbit. Your vampire approaches."

".."

"A weekend with a vampire is so sexy, you should spend a weekend with me. Chanyeol is too proper. Imagine, your glory hole and a large vampire di-"

"Am I interrupting something?" Park Chanyeol.

Sehun chuckled against Baekhyun's ear. 

"No. I was just inviting Baekhyun to a fun weekend." Sehun stepped back, putting a respectable distance between Baekhyun and himself.

Baekhyun opened his mouth to retort.

Park Chanyeol tapped his wristwatch. "It is time to visit Kris." His eyes flickered to Baekhyun and flickered away. "He has especially asked us not to be late. Come on. If we do not pull Junmyeon away from those ladies, he won't be saved tonight."

Baekhyun waited. But Park Chanyeol left without saying goodbye. One moment his fiancé was there, filling the area with his presence, and the next instant, he was gone. Just like that, without so much as a 'by your leave'. Baekhyun felt all kinds of daggers and arrows pinch his heart but then, he saw Lady Tiffany observing him intently. The aristocrat beamed at her, shaking the bad feelings away. The show does go on, he thought, walking up to her. 

  
  


***


	5. Part Five - Ruby Woo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woot Woot! New chapter :) Leave a comment if you find happy surprises in this chapter. Love from ♥️

In the days leading up to Lady Tiffany's departure, Baekhyun reacquainted himself with his old dwelling ground, feeling very foreign and out of place. He hung out with his University friends, and laughed with them seated inside a McDonald's. He went to the cinema with them, did some shopping, hung out near the riverfront. 

He walked around Lady Tiffany's house, touching shiny surfaces, smelling flowers in their vases, looking for new hiding places and finding none. The young aristocrat peered in curiosity at all the servants' faces, and tried to guess if they bickered behind the masters of the house. 

Baekhyun kept himself occupied, sometimes brushing up his language skills, sometimes bent over the piano, physically present. But his mind drifted farther and farther away every day - a snow covered land, blue above, white below, and a man who looked like he found comfort in his solitary ways. 

The young aristocrat's piano skills were rusty, he had not practiced for years. Lately, he had been itching to play, however imperfectly, especially after falling in love with the cherry vampire's grand piano - ebony, six feet - that stood like a milestone in the manor's study. 

"Does Chanyeol play?" he had asked Jongdae in wonder, imagining the vampire playing something dark and ritualistic, like Stravinsky's  _ Rite of Spring.  _

"Master hasn't played for decades." the loyal dog answered.

It seems there was a time when Park Chanyeol loved going to recitals and operas. That was another time, another era. Music left Chanyeol long back. In solitude, there is no music, there is just a haunting reverberation of hollowness. 

Baekhyun counted the days to Lady Tiffany's departure. The matriarch asked to take a walk with him in the gardens a day before embarking upon her long tour. 

Spring was evident in the gardens, jolly and loud. Birds, breeze, sweet fragrances in the air, spring announced its presence and how. Baekhyun had always loved the season of flowers, he was always likened to flowers by his many times great grandmother. One flower to be precise. Red rose. 

Lady Tiffany pointed out his old swing set, which still hung from a branch even though Baekhyun had long outgrown it. By and by, she brought the subject of discussion to the vampire.

"When I leave, after settling all the pending issues, you must leave for the cherry vampire's manor. When are you planning to?"

They were on either side of the swing, and Baekhyun pretended to be interested in a branch, his fingers grabbing the fat, greying rope of the swing. 

"Soon, I hope?" Lady Tiffany persisted.

Baekhyun nodded, eyes slanted, thinking back to how the vampire left without saying goodbye. A year was too long, a month was too short, a moment was forever. He frowned, shrugging it off. "Chanyeol said I could come whenever." 

She smiled. "He has always been a gentleman. Always."

"Always?"

"Ever since I have known him."

The young aristocrat lifted his eyes to her smiling face. 

"You want to ask something." Lady Tiffany commented, smile breaking into a grin now. She was like that, always happy, always cheerful. She was the antithesis of Park Chanyeol, vibrant, exuberant, a social butterfly, so full of warmth and delight. 

Many many years ago, she took something of Chanyeol from which they said he never recovered. So Baekhyun asked, "Kim Jongdae said you did not invite Park Chanyeol for parleys." It was a question, only, he was unsure if he would ever get his answers. 

"That _loyal dog_." Lady Tiffany studied his face, "Do you blame me?"

"I don't know enough to blame you." 

Lady Tiffany lifted her face so it would catch the passing breeze. "I did what I had to protect our family. I realise, in doing so, I did a grave injustice to the cherry vampire. But my family came first. You didn't live in those times, Baekhyun. It was pure horror, we didn't know when our dear ones will be snatched and drained of blood. Nobody knew a thing. Everyone was scared."

"We lived in constant fear. Who could we turn to if not ourselves. Sometimes, unpleasant things have to be done. There might be no rest, no purgatory for those who sin, but action is still better than inaction. That vampires could have familial love, same as us, I did not know then."

"They say I loved my family, my bloodline. I did. I would go to any lengths to protect anything that belongs to me, so I did what was necessary. Park Chanyeol will never forgive me for not inviting him to the parleys, he finds no joy in living, that one."

"Why didn't you invite him then?"

Lady Tiffany rolled her eyes, "I was trying to repay a kindness a vampire once showed me when I was at rock bottom. My husband, sigh, let's just say he was abusive. We were at a ball, dancing one minute, and the next, he drags me away to some shady corner, twisting my elbow, hurting me. He hated me. I couldn't give him sons. But he hated me more because I was better than him, I came from a wealthier family, I was toasted, celebrated, while he was lacking, insipid. I was a better vampire hunter while he was a coward. He was only good for producing bastard children. Heh!"

"I don't know how many times he hit my face that night, my pretty little face which he hated so much because it was pretty. Of course he was drunk, but he would hit me even if he wasn't, so it didn't even matter. And then, this person swoops in, pulls my husband away, and  _ coaxes _ him to leave. I was too much in pain, too distraught to notice what was happening. My husband who would rarely listen to anyone, obeyed that person in a single instant. I was so relieved, I was howling in agony."

"That person gave me his handkerchief, and asked me why I was silently suffering like this. Oh goodness, I remember how I replied. I told him I'd kill my husband with my own hands if I didn't have three daughters."

" _ How can you live in pain like this? You are suffering!  _ \- he said. And I replied that I live for my children, my bloodline. They are my only strength. I had nothing else to live for. He  _ listened _ to me, offered me kindness that night when I had just dealt with the worst kind of cruelty. I asked for his name when he was leaving, and he revealed himself.  _ Park Chanyeol,  _ he said simply, as though that name wasn't legendary in itself. An old vampire. One from Kim Junmyeon's coven. A  _ vampire  _ had offered me kindness when my human of a husband couldn't."

Baekhyun pondered. He gingerly sat on the swing seat, testing its strength. "Is that why you didn't invite him for parleys?"

"The ones who show kindness to you when you are at your lowest, how can you wish them harm? He knew who I was, he could have snapped my neck and left me bleeding, but I didn't even see the hint of a fang. What careful control for a vampire to have, what mastery over his own self! I was in awe. I have always had the deepest respect for Park Chanyeol."

"I am a person of action, Baekhyun. I do what needs to be done, even the unpleasant things. While I continue to hold awe for this vampire, he swore revenge against me. He would have killed me at the first chance had Kim Junmyeon and I not brokered a deal. Park Chanyeol wants to wipe my bloodline out, he thinks I hate the bloodsuckers so much that I would die a thousand deaths before handing him over anything that belongs to me. He doesn't know a woman's heart. If it was anyone other than Park Chanyeol, I would have fought tooth and nail. But it's the cherry vampire, and I owe him. All these years, I was looking forward to having a matrimonial alliance with him. I was longing to be free of this weight. I thought it would be some lovely granddaughter, someone he would cherish. But it is even better. It is you. Who will ever hurt you? Who cannot tell that you have a beautiful heart?"

"It is not like that." Baekhyun blushed. "Park Chanyeol and I - we are not like that."

Lady Tiffany looked at him. "The cherry vampire and I have struck up a correspondence in the past few years, ever since he wrote to remind me that I owe him my sole heir. I have invited him plenty of times here. He has never set foot under my roof. How could he? But he came that day, didn't he?"

Baekhyun ruminated silently, using his feet to set the swing in motion. The breeze was the softest, tickling his ears. 

"You must go to him soon, Baekhyun. The day they brought you home from your parent's funeral, since that very first day, you were only on loan to me. You were never mine, darling. You have always belonged to him." 

  
  
So Baekhyun returned to Cherry Vampire manor, with all his suitcases, all his silent wonder, all his misgivings. Anticipation and heaviness wreaked havoc on his mind. Perhaps nobody expected Baekhyun to return so soon. Kim Jongdae's jaw dropped when he sighted Baekhyun, a little red dot in the distance, dragging his suitcases, huffing and puffing with exertion.

"Didn't Master know you're coming? He would have sent a carriage!"

"I didn't inform." Baekhyun gasped, out of breath from having to drag his load through the snowy road.

"Vampire's fangs! You  _ are  _ quite something, aren't you? JONGIN! JONGIN! Come help this young aristocrat with his luggage. Oi!"

  
"Should I send word to Master that you are home?" Jongdae asked once Baekhyun had a cup of warm ginger tea in his system. The aristocrat had complained of feeling a little cold and a little dizzy after walking all the way from the gates. "He is over at the factory, but I know for a fact that it is not a very busy day today."

"No. I - I am tired. I will sleep after an early dinner. No need to send word."

The  _ loyal dog  _ looked at him in suspicion. "What is up with Master's fiance, I wonder." he spoke out loud. Baekhyun pushed him out of the room. 

When Park Chanyeol arrived from the factory that evening, Baekhyun was already pretending to be fast asleep. He had bolted the door from inside but sat propped against multiple pillows with his bedtime read lying open on his lap. 

Jongdae had worried that he will catch a cold and get sick from that afternoon's 'dare'; toasty bed pans were now placed under his bed and Baekhyun felt like his toes had never been more comfortable. His ears, alert, tinged a deep shade upon hearing Chanyeol's car in the driveway. 

An hour or so later, he heard the vampire making his way upstairs to the third floor. All was quiet after that. Baekhyun turned his bedside lamp off and fell into a deep sleep. 

Baekhyun feigned sickness and stayed in bed until noon the next day. Jongdae went berserk pounding at the door, begging and threatening, then cajoling Baekhyun into opening the door. 

The  _ loyal dog  _ narrowed his eyes in disbelief when Baekhyun said he was unwell and would like to have brunch in bed please. "I think you are avoiding Master." he declared.

Baekhyun pursed his lips, watching Jongdae put fresh roses in the vases. Yes, he was avoiding the vampire, because he did not know what else to do. The vampire had avoided him first. He was properly hurt when Park Chanyeol did not so much as speak two words to him the last time. Lady Tiffany had told him that maybe the vampire wanted to act cold towards his fiancé so that she would be devastated. His grandmother looked very cheerful while saying this.

The young aristocrat thought they were both annoying - Park Chanyeol and Lady Tiffany. Two ancient adults playing like children. What a burden.

"I am unwell." he told Jongdae.

"And whose fault is that? Who asked you to act so brave? If only you had informed beforehand, Master would have sent a carriage to pick you up. He looked really surprised at your sudden return."

Baekhyun pouted. "No one told me I had to take permission before returning."

Jongdae rolled his eyes, but only because he had his back turned to the aristocrat. Much drama! 

The drama continued until the next morning, until finally the Master of the manor decided that enough was enough. "He's still unwilling to set foot outside the bedroom?" Chanyeol asked the  _ loyal dog _ . 

Jongdae nodded. "Asked for breakfast in bed."

".."

  
Baekhyun had a sumptuous breakfast that morning - a full glass of milk, apples glazed with honey, oatmeal with blueberries and peanut butter, nuts and raisins. Two sunny side up eggs with just the right amount of pepper and chilli flakes. He called for two more eggs, and the  _ loyal dog _ grumbled something under his breath about finding solace in food.

Jongdae filled his bath with warm water and rose oil, and scrubbed his back until the aristocrat complained. By mid morning, Baekhyun dived under the covers in fresh clothes, and damp hair. He had no plans of going downstairs until he was certain of the fact that the vampire has left for the factory. 

The sound of wheels in motion did not reach the second floor today; instead, Baekhyun was aroused from his state of lethargy when lovely tunes floated upstairs. It took him several minutes to register that someone was playing the piano.

_ Someone was playing the piano!  _

The young aristocrat, despite having a hundred and one tiny grudges and unsolved riddles, finally stepped out of his room, drawn by his desire to see the vampire on the grand piano.

It was such a familiar tune. He had played it too, a couple of times in high school. Lady Tiffany often played it on his birthdays. 

_ To a Wild Rose _ . The soft and pleasant tune sweetly reverberated around the whole manor. Jongin and Kyungsoo, who had never heard the master of the manor play, looked at each other in surprise. Jongdae smiled like he was a zen lord. 

And just like that, with a few strokes on the instrument, the vampire changed the entire atmosphere inside his lair.

It was so sweet, so mellow, so soft and pure, Baekhyun could never have imagined that such honeyed tenderness was cocooned somewhere inside Park Chanyeol.

Baekhyun had tears in his eyes, what delicate feelings prompted Chanyeol to play the piano today? Was he remembering someone, was he missing someone, was it some lover's death anniversary, was it longing, was it love?

Even after the vampire was done playing, the soothing melody was like a hum in his heart, like an afterthought that would not go away. 

Chanyeol must have sensed his presence inside the study, because he patted on the bench. "Come sit." the vampire said, beginning the piece again. So Baekhyun sat. 

The vampire played so beautifully, better than his grandmother and certainly better than him. It was a short piece, too short. 

"Play again." Baekhyun said. So the vampire played again. 

The aristocrat watched Chanyeol's fingers dance over the quaint keys, effortlessly coaxing music out of them. He wondered how many long hours of practice were spent to reach this level of proficiency.

He felt this attack was a little uncalled for; he was already in awe of the vampire, must he now really lose his heart too to Chanyeol. It was unfair how traitorous one's own body organs were.

After the piece ended, they sat in silence on the piano bench. Some time later, Chanyeol placed a little velvet box on the piano keys, keeping it ever so gently, like this was a delicate secret. The aristocrat knew the box was for him.

"Take it. I acquired it for you."

Heart beating a little too wildly, Baekhyun lifted the rather cutely wrapped box to undo the ribbon. Inside it was a ring - a simple gold band with a tear shaped sapphire and a tear shaped diamond. "Is this compensation?" he quickly asked. 

"Compensation for what?" Chanyeol feigned ignorance. 

Baekhyun did not answer. Instead, he looked at Chanyeol and asked a question of his own. "Tell me something honestly. When you look at me, do you see me at all? Do I have any identity in your eyes, or am I just Lady Tiffany's sole surviving heir to you?"

"I see all of you."

Baekhyun blinked rapidly for a few seconds, wondering what to make of this. Then, Chanyeol laughed lightly, "I can only see you, you know. Sometimes I see your tiny red figure in the distance even when you are not there."

Baekhyun frowned, trying to make out if the vampire was being sincere, covering it up with his laughter, or being insincere, and laughing because of it. 

"This is not compensation. I overheard an old lady asking after your engagement ring at Lady Tiffany's. You can show this to them next time."

The aristocrat took a second look at the shiny bauble; it annoyed him. It wasn't especially pretty, or fashionable. It was just a decoy. It annoyed him very much. 

"I don't like it." he said, staring at the ring. "It's ugly."

The vampire looked startled for a millisecond before he schooled his face and said somewhat coldly, "You don't have to like it. You only need to wear it."

Baekhyun wished he had never stepped out of his room. "Fine, I'll wear it." he said, plucking the ring out of the box and proceeding to slide it inside his finger forcefully. "You would have probably bought the loveliest ring for whoever you lost back then. But of course, I am not worth the trouble." The words tumbled out of his mouth all on their own. "I am ugly in your eyes and I get the ugliest ring." And then, he shut up, waiting for the vampire's reproach.

Park Chanyeol's reproaches were all very beautiful, no doubt the vampire had spent years and years practising them. A slight lift of his brow, a small curve of his lips, a straight stare, a hint of an eye roll, these were all part of Chanyeol's arsenal. 

Baekhyun expected something of that sort, and a quick dismissal. But Chanyeol surprised him. 

"Whoever I lost? Who are you talking about?" the words seemed like a warning. But when Baekhyun turned to face Chanyeol hotly, the vampire seemed genuinely surprised. 

"The people who Lady Tiffany killed." Baekhyun prompted, unwilling to elaborate.

Chanyeol stared at his face in incomprehension, head tilted, lips slightly apart, as if trying to recollect something and failing. 

"And  _ who _ among them do you think I would have bought a ring for? And why?" the vampire asked, eyes very round, very big, very piercing.

"Jongdae told me." Baekhyun stressed, as though this was self explanatory.

This time, Chanyeol rightly crossed his arms and straightened his torso. "What else did Jongdae say, pray tell. I am very curious. What has he been going around telling you?"

Baekhyun fished for the proper lines, "He said - he said you lost a soulmate or a lover, he said something like that."

The vampire looked astonished at that. Stumped. "I lost a lover?  _ A soulmate?  _ Really?"

Baekhyun blinked. "Didn't you?"

Chanyeol cupped his chin with his palm, "Please do go on. I am very interested in hearing the rest of the story."

"I am not telling any story. I -"

"You know more than I do about myself?"

Baekhyun fiddled with the square box in his hands. He shook his head. He should have stayed inside his room. Everything hurt in Cherry Vampire manor, and yet he had hurried here without giving any prior notice, for what! 

"Baekhyun," Chanyeol said, "I have taken many, many lovers to my bed. But I can swear to you, among the people your grandmother killed, there was no lover."

"No soulmate either." Chanyeol added, as though he felt he should clarify this point too. "Vampires don't have soulmates, Baekhyun. We aren't supposed to have a soul. We are the damned." 

Baekhyun looked up at the chuckle. 

"I feel like I should add to this lest you let wrong notions crowd your head again. I do not have a One either. Vampires survive on blood, and all blood taste the same, more or less. But when vampires find The One, they say that blood tastes like heaven, like tasting a god's blood, like ichor. I haven't had a taste of it yet, and I do not have any intention of finding The One. So any misgivings you have, please set them aside for now."

"I thought -"

"I know what you thought. You are wrong. Baekhyun, I keep saying this but you were really born yesterday. Once you have lived long enough, you will realise that there are some things higher than love. Duty and responsibility. I hold Lady Tiffany to account because I feel responsible for what occurred. If she had invited me, I could have prevented it all. I feel duty towards - towards a person because I let them down. Love has no role to play. Love is for little people like you who have stars in their eyes. There are no stars for me."

"What if - what if somebody fell in love with you? Would you mock them?"

Park Chanyeol made a show of wiping off dust from the keys. "Wouldn't be the first time and wouldn't be the last time. I guess it would be their bad luck."

"You are not even slightly curious about The One?"

"I told you, didn't I, there are no stars for me. Fleeting things are for mortals, who are fleeting themselves."

Baekhyun looked at his ring sadly. "How am I supposed to understand something like that? I am just a mortal."

  
  


Jongdae was distraught. " _ What did you tell Master _ ? Why did he ask me to keep my loud mouth shut just now?"

Baekhyun looked up from his book. "??"

"He  _ scolded  _ me. You  _ know _ I haven't invited his wrath for years on end.  _ What did you say to Park Chanyeol? _ "

"I - was he really that angry?"

"He would have snapped my neck. I told you, didn't I, he has a mad temper! He summoned me in his library and gave me a  _ lecture! _ I - I ..is this what I get for taking care of all your dainty little fingers and stubby little toes? Is this what I get for scrubbing your spoilt aristocratic back and making sure your bum is warm at night? Instead of a thank you, I got a knife in my back."

Baekhyun cast his book aside, "Jongdae." he moaned, "I didn't mean to snitch, but he gave me such an ugly ring, I may have said something about how he would have bought a better ring for the lover he lost during the great war."

"What ring?"

Baekhyun extended his hand and showed the object in question. Actually, to be fair, it was not ugly per se, it just looked like it belonged in the ocean floor than on his finger. Park Chanyeol must have lifted the first ring from his hidden chest of treasures to offer it to him. 

The  _ loyal dog _ Jongdae came closer and took a second look at the ring.

"You have no idea what that ring is, right?" Jongdae looked as if he wanted to laugh out of desperation.

Baekhyun shook his head. "Hm?"

"Not telling you. You just subjected me to the worst humiliation. Jongin heard everything, he was cleaning. I was humiliated in front of Jongin." 

"Then why did you lie about Chanyeol losing a soulmate?"

Kim Jongdae jumped around the room in frustration. "I didn't lie. I didn't.  _ You  _ asked  _ me  _ who Master lost in the great war.  _ I  _ told  _ you,  _ who knows, it could have been anyone, a lover, a friend, a soulmate. That's what I said. I just made a guess that it could be anyone. I didn't know you would bat your eyes at Master and tell him that he would have bought a prettier ring for his lover feat Kim Jongdae. By the way, that ring..no, forget it. I am not going to tell you anything about it. No, I won't. I have learnt my lesson."

"Why would you guess? Don't you know? Weren't you by his side when everything happened?"

The  _ loyal dog _ took a deep breath. "He became my master after the treaty between vampires and vampire hunters."

Baekhyun looked at him accusingly, "But you said he was a pearl among pearls."

"I didn't work for Master then but  _ everyone who was anyone knew who Park Chanyeol was _ !"

The aristocrat and the  _ loyal dog  _ stared at each other. 

"I am sorry you got scolded." Baekhyun said.

"Apology not accepted."

  
So, Baekhyun played alone these days. He sought Kyungsoo out whenever he was in the mood for small talk. Kim Jongdae was hell bent on giving him the cold shoulder. The aristocrat filled his free time either sitting in the kitchen, watching Jongin chop and dice and cook, or trailing after Kyungsoo as the gardener watered and trimmed his plants.

His evenings were spent inside the library, reading boring anthology books on vampires. The aristocrat had a huge suspicion that Park Chanyeol made Jongdae hide all the more interesting titles. 

Of course nothing was more interesting in the library than the cherry vampire. Baekhyun had begun to admit to himself that he had developed a small crush on the vampire, just a small one, no big deal. He prided himself on the fact that it was under control. Just a small crush, small enough that you would want to peer at the vampire from behind boring books. He took special care not to sigh. 

The vampire heard  _ everything,  _ his heartbeats, his sighs, his silent chuckles of contentment. And when the vampire looked in his eyes, Baekhyun felt very naked, very exposed. 

Park Chanyeol could even tell when Baekhyun slept late. 

"Why were you up until one AM last night?" Chanyeol would ask disarmingly, catching him in his most unguarded moments.

Baekhyun could only lie. "I wasn't awake." he would maintain, with as much dignity as possible.

Chanyeol would stare at him from across the library. "It is important to get a good night's sleep." he would remind every time.

But Baekhyun was addicted to  _ reading Sexuality and Vampires in the 18th Century  _ until late in the night _ . _ All such books were confiscated but this gem of a book was thankfully under his pillow. The young aristocrat found the book very informative. He learnt that everything Sehun had told him about vampires were true! Vampires were really horny all the time. For them, sex and love were two different, entirely unrelated things. Love was not required, sex was a necessity.

Baekhyun found out that when a vampire drank from his One, the very act, the very taste of ichor would make them come. This fact gave countless sleepless nights to our young aristocrat. He imagined the cherry vampire coming from drinking blood, and then could not wipe the visual from his mind. He was hot and flustered at night these days. But he was scared that if he moaned too loud, the vampire would hear him. It was a pain being as quiet as possible. It was too much. 

He discovered that all vampires were bisexual. Thinking of Chanyeol having intercourse with other people did not please him very much. He imagined other things; truth be told, his imagination had started to run very, very wild these days. Baekhyun thought how it would be like, to have sex with a vampire. He imagined it would be both a pleasure and a pain. He told himself that realistically, if he was going to spend many years in this manor, it was only logical to come to the conclusion that there would come a day when Chanyeol and he would indeed have sex, make love. 

In the mornings, Baekhyun would always blame Sehun for this dangerous state of mind. Sehun was the culprit. He was the victim. Sehun had sown the seeds. So now, if he was imagining Chanyeol doing things to him, touching him in dangerous places, it was all Sehun's fault. 

Baekhyun would sit in the library and think such impure thoughts. If only vampires were mind readers, he would be in a heavy amount of trouble. 

Some evenings, Baekhyun would steal looks at his fiance and his mouth would water. 

"You don't look too well. Are you sure you slept soundly last night?" Park Chanyeol would ask, not even lifting his head from his accounts. 

The aristocrat would look at Chanyeol like a dog looks at a snack. "I slept just fine." he would lie, when in fact, all he did last night was page through the book with one hand, and touch himself with the other. He was running out of handkerchiefs to soil. He was running out of patience. He worried that someday he would do something drastic, like letting out the loudest moan, or uttering Chanyeol's name out loud, or just voicing his desires in his dreams. Or knocking on Chanyeol's door to beg for bones. 

"You look like you have a fever." the vampire would insist. 

Baekhyun liked climbing trees, but Jongdae's screeches from down below never allowed him to climb too high. But with Jongdae still not talking to him, there was no one to hold him back now. It was a fine day, not too chilly, not very windy, the sun falling on one's skin like warm butter spreading on a slice of fruit bread. 

He was walking on the lawn to digest his brunch, lately he had become a little chubby. Jongin and Kyungsoo were cleaning the attic, busy with their mops and pails, and Jongdae had gone to bring Park Chanyeol's new thoroughbred home. 

Baekhyun sweetly assumed that the vampire must have left for the factory. 

With no one around to mind him, Baekhyun climbed and climbed and climbed until he realised he had climbed too high. The ground looked scary. The sky above was azure. His palms were sweaty. And his eyes were level with Park Chanyeol's window, which was closed. 

The vampire must surely have left for the factory in the morning. 

Baekhyun was musing this and that when his feet slipped. Although he regained his footing within a second, a high pitched cry still escaped his mouth. He held on to the branch tightly, "Vampire's fangs! " he cursed out loud, "Get a grip, get a grip."

Seconds tickled by. 

The vampire threw open the window panes, pulling the curtains to one side. 

Upon seeing the vampire's silver head, Baekhyun's eyes went wide. Hugging a tree branch like a koala bear, how could he not be mortified by the current state he was in. The vampire looked equally surprised; it seemed as though Chanyeol was debating which expression to put on to express his state of mind upon catching Baekhyun red handed.

But Baekhyun didn't care. He was finding it difficult to breathe. His eyes darted to the exposed chest and caramel candy tummy and well carved navel because the vampire was wearing just an eggshell white towel. Baekhyun was delighted at the sight, his eyes dancing all over Chanyeol's body.

"Not coming down?" Chanyeol-in-a-towel challenged. Baekhyun thought that he should stay where he was and admire this god given view. Very slowly, he shook his head. 

"You'll fall down." Chanyeol stressed.

Baekhyun remembered having read that vampires could fly. 

Slowly, very slowly, he closed his eyes and let himself go. 

He was falling. 

He was falling until he was not falling anymore. He was floating in mid air,  _ and he was in the arms of the vampire.  _ This state of suspended animation very much like his and Chanyeol's entanglement. 

Baekhyun opened his eyes slowly, they were several feet from the ground. Chanyeol may have said something in soft reproach, but it fell on deaf ears. The aristocrat was pressed flush against the vampire's naked chest, and it was all he could focus on. 

The vampire's arms were around him, holding tight, like holding on to life at the brink of here and hereafter. This was the closest they had ever come, physically, Baekhyun's heartbeats knocking against Chanyeol's chest.

Chanyeol was very, very careful while setting him back on the ground, but Baekhyun did not want to let go. He simply wouldn't let go. He didn't want to part with the chest, soft and smooth.

It was a physical ache when Chanyeol let go his tight hold on him. Suddenly there was a gap, a small distance between their bodies. Baekhyun did not like it. He probed with his eyes at first, and then, slowly, very slowly, with his fingers. He slowly raised his hand to touch Chanyeol, allowing the vampire time to step back if he wished to. 

When his palm grazed against the vampire's chest, Baekhyun's eyelashes fluttered in excitement, anticipation, his mouth  _ watering _ with the anguish of someone who had waited patiently for millenia. 

The record that vampires were horny beasts played over and over in his mind. He wanted to grab Chanyeol's tummy like a little babe grabs at butterflies, with their whole heart, with his entire palm, with extreme delight. He wanted to write his name on that chest like how children write nonsensical words in walls with crayons. 

He thought of how vampires fucked, how virile they were, how hot and how irresistable. He was so close to scratching his lip with the vampire's nipples. His fingers found Chanyeol's deep little belly button instead. Baekhyun dipped a finger inside and delighted at the depth. His finger circled the periphery and dipped inside again. His lips wanted to whisper Chanyeol's name. It was such a name, Baekhyun had been biting his lips these nights to keep himself for crying out that name.

His hands spread across the entire naked expanse shamelessly, hungrily, and with no retort coming, he let one of his hands slide downwards, his little finger soon dipping under the towel, in dangerous territory. Baekhyun paused in his exploration, sticking like glue, waiting for some sign. He debated if he should snatch the towel away like a person rips open a bandaid. Then, he wondered if he should slowly let the towel fall, like a temptress opens her bodice, seductively. 

Just when Baekhyun thought all the candies of cherry vampire empire were his for the taking, the lollipop was snatched away. Without any warning, Park Chanyeol stepped back, quickly holding on to his towel. The vampire was backing away as if Baekhyun was a dangerous wild animal that had accosted him too suddenly.

Baekhyun did feel a little ashamed. Vampires were the ones who were naturally horny, what excuse did Baekhyun have for this forward behaviour. 

Baekhyun's little finger was exposed to cold air now. Baekhyun was unwilling to meet the judgment in Chanyeol's eyes, so he kept staring at the pale skin. 

"I want to see." Baekhyun said, like a man would utter a dying wish. 

"Baekhyun." It was not an admonishment. Nor disappointment, not warning, not anger. It was just a vampire's feeble attempt at uttering his name. 

"Please I want to see." Baekhyun said, voice firm than ever before, bravery in the air. He wanted to see. 

"No."

A child denied toys at the Fair would perhaps not be more disappointed than Baekhyun. 

Chanyeol did not wait for Baekhyun to press his advances. He walked away and fled the scene. 

Baekhyun watched Chanyeol walk away, mind numb to the surroundings. He paced on spot, going over the minute details of what had happened just then, Sehun's words like an anthem in his clouded mind. He decided to do what Sehun had asked him to - crowd the cherry vampire. 

He had never set foot on the third floor, it was the one rule around the manor he was asked to follow and he had followed it till now. But Baekhyun literally ran up the stairs like his life depended on it. He couldn't, wouldn't breathe until he was allowed a glimpse of every inch of Chanyeol's body, especially what was under that towel and what was denied to him.

Perhaps the vampire never expected Baekhyun to break the one rule in the manor, never ever, because otherwise, Chanyeol would have locked the room before doing this. 

Perhaps, perhaps Chanyeol was so busy and immersed in doing this act that he did not hear Baekhyun dash up a flight of stairs, because at the very least, the vampire would have covered himself. 

When Baekhyun pushed open the doors to Chanyeol's room, all his foolish bravado evaporated on the spot. He had walked in on a vampire masturbating. No, he had walked in on a vampire  _ climaxing!  _

Baekhyun wanted to see all of Chanyeol, but he had little idea that his desire would come true in such a fashion. The vampire was spread on his bed, head thrown back against the pillows, legs opened wide, jaw slack. One hand was pumping out squirts of cum from what seemed to be a very long and very hard dick, the other hand was busy cupping his sack. 

The aristocrat watched as Chanyeol shuddered through his orgasm, eyes closed and stomach splattered white with cream. It was such a sensuous, raw sight, Baekhyun could not tear his eyes away. He looked on hungrily, eyes wide with desire. A part of him wanted to join Chanyeol in bed, licking away the remnants of the vampires's high. Another part of him wanted to flee for dear life.

He had walked in on a vampire ejaculating his load! He was doomed! 

Finally, it looked like Chanyeol had come down from his high. His shudders ceased, and the vampire's eyes half opened, slits of red with fading desire. Those eyes found Baekhyun standing on the doorway. 

The aristocrat opened and closed his mouth soundlessly like a goldfish. Suddenly he was very aware of hot burning eyes on him. He was aware of a very naked, very horny vampire looking at him with piercing red eyes. 

Baekhyun was the one who backed away this time, running down the stairs, mortified, deeply guilty of inadvertently barging in on something so personal.

He shut the door to his room and flung himself under the duvet. He was sweating. It was broad daylight outside but Baekhyun wanted to shut all small gaps that invited light. He wished his room to be dressed in deathly dark. He was too jittery to see his own reflection in the mirror. 

Baekhyun squirmed under the covers, letting his hand reach where his body needed the most attention. Closing his eyes, he recalled how splendid Chanyeol had looked covered in his own cum, how hard that dick was, how well bestowed. Baekhyun trembled, biting his lips. He let his other hand find the entrance, the spot where he hoped Chanyeol would lavish attention one day. Maybe. He uttered a soft cry when his mind flooded with images of how the vampire had shuddered. He wanted to be the one to incite those involuntary movements in the vampire. He wanted to coat the vampire's skin with desire. He wanted to wane and wax and wilt under Chanyeol's touch.

"Chanyeol." he allowed himself to whisper, knowing that the vampire could hear. "Chanyeol."

Baekhyun had touched himself so many times in the same room, on the same bed prior to this but he had never been so maddened with arousal. He called out Chanyeol's name a hundred times, twisted and turned, plugged his mouth with his knuckles, plugged his asshole, bit at the pillow, humped against the mattress, before finally soiling the sheets. He did it once. He did it twice. He was insatiable. He needed vampire cock to fill his mouth and keep him from crying out Chanyeol's name. He needed that fat, bulging penis to take root in his base, and give him all the pleasure and pain that was written in his fate.

He needed Chanyeol. He needed Chanyeol's everything. He needed to be Chanyeol's everything. How can anything be enough now. He had walked in on a vampire orgasming. 

He dozed off. 

Jongdae's loud knocks woke him up. "Open the door. Openthedoor. Openthedooropenthedoor."

Baekhyun sat up on the bed, it was dark. He fastened his pajama drawstring and fumbled out of the bed. 

"How was your afternoon siesta?" the  _ loyal dog  _ asked cheerfully. Apparently he had set his grudge aside, and was now carrying evening tea and snacks on a gilded tray.

Baekhyun winced when Jongdae turned the lights on. "Am I in the mood for tea?" he asked out loud. 

"Do you want to go see the hounds then?"

"No." Baekhyun replied quickly. He did not want to step out the door. This room, where no vampires could step in, was his sanctuary. 

He sipped his tea slowly. "Jongdae, can I ask you something?"

The  _ loyal dog  _ barked, "No. You can't do this to me. I don't want to land in trouble again by telling you things which you might misconstrue and misrepresent in front of Master. No, I will not -"

"This is Park Chanyeol's property right?"

"Hm? Yes, true, every inch of it."

"Then why can't any vampire step inside my room?" 

Jongdae opened and closed his mouth. "Well, that, um.."

Baekhyun sipped his tea and waited. He stuffed his mouth with the butter and cream cookies topped with jam. He knew Jongdae liked it when he ate. So he ate one biscuit after the other. 

Jongdae melted like cheese on the breakfast table. "Master of course had the papers removed from the library."

"What papers?"

"The papers that say he has signed over this property,  _ this bedroom, and the attached bathroom and the balcony _ to you."

Baekhyun cast his teacup aside. "Jongdae, why would he do that?" He was beginning to feel a coldness spread across his lower abdomen. 

The  _ loyal dog  _ shrugged. "Master said something about keeping you safe from himself."

Baekhyun was immediately displeased. "Move aside. I need to talk to Park Chanyeol. I want to hear this from his own mouth."

He stomped up the stairs to the third floor, making as much noise as possible. He threw open the doors to see Chanyeol quickly hiding something behind his back, red liquid dripping from his mouth. "Baekhyun, will you allow me to catch a break today? I was feeding. What part of 'don't step on the third floor' do you not understand? Do I need to transfer myself and my food outside the manor? Should I build a hut next to the hounds?"

The young aristocrat brushed the statements aside. "Why would you transfer a part of this manor to my name?"

The vampire relaxed his stance and let both his hands fall to the side, one hand holding what looked like a transparent plastic bag. "It is extremely bad manners to interrupt a vampire while he is feeding."

"You let me watch the last time." Baekhyun reminded.

Chanyeol sighed and took a sip from the bag. "Lady Tiffany's heir is a voyeur."

Baekhyun lost his script at the accusation. "I wasn't - I didn't know you would..I am sorry."

"Apology accepted." Chanyeol said evenly, face as clear as a spring sky.

"Why did you transfer your property to my name?"

"It's just a bedroom Baekhyun, let it go."

"Why?"

Chanyeol gulped the contents of the bag in one go. He coolly surveyed the aristocrat as he wiped the wetness from his mouth. "I had to. It was not an option not to. I can't trust myself not to hurt you. You are a mortal. I am a vampire. If I have to transfer a little property in your name to save you from myself, it is not a big deal."

"But I don't want to be saved from you." Baekhyun protested.

Chanyeol threw the empty packet to one side. "That doesn't make any sense."

"No, really. I don't."

The vampire started walking towards him then. "So you want to court danger, huh?" 

Baekhyun stood his ground. 

"Of course, you have been living with me all this time. You probably think vampires are tame. You can break their rules and walk over them and they will let you be?"

The aristocrat shook his head. "You. Only you. Only you can wreck me. I'll allow only you to wreck me."

Chanyeol squeezed Baekhyun cheeks with his fist, thumb on one cheek, four fingers on the other. "You can't say that, what do you know. You are a mortal. If I unleash myself and take you right here, right now, you'll be running to your grandmother tomorrow. That first night you arrived, that first night you slept under my roof, I was in your room, almost about to rip you apart." He let go of Baekhyun's cheek. "I wanted to run my nails over your delicate skin, crack your delicate skull. It was torture having to get used to your smell, so annoying."

"I asked my lawyers to draw up those papers the very next day. It was the only way for me to not attack you in your sleep and suck you lifeless. So never say that I can wreck you. Because I am the only one who can do that. I almost did that first night. Don't."

Baekhyun leaned into Chanyeol, his height making it so that he was cornered against the vampire's chest. "If it's you, I really don't mind."

Chanyeol took in a deep breath. "Baek-"

"I  _ want _ you to wreck me. I'll tear those papers! I'll throw them away."

Chanyeol groaned and ran his fingers through his hair. 

"Why did you ask me to not step here? I don't see any deadly objects! Is it because you keep your food supply here? I'll sleep here every night, I'll crowd your space, I'll not step in my room."

The vampire laughed. "I'll really have to build myself a hut."

Baekhyun tiptoed and sniffed the vampire's neck. "You smell nice too." he said. He did not even know what he was doing, or saying. He waited for Chanyeol to say something, to make a move, to either accept or reject him. 

"Ahem. I hope I am  _ -cough-  _ not interrupting anything."

Kim Junmyeon was at the door, smiling at them, wearing a traveling coat, square shaped glasses and looking like a professor. "Sorry if you guys - um -"

Chanyeol stepped away from Baekhyun, putting the distance of the entire room between them. "No, you possibly couldn't have arrived at a better time."

I'll still best you one day, Baekhyun thought.

  
  
  
  
**  
  
  
  
  



	6. Part Six - Stain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay here it is. but this chapter isn't for babies. no peeking. you know what I mean.

Dinner time was an eye opener for the young aristocrat that evening. He discovered that his fiancé would converse freely when he was among peers, throwing his opinions about each and every topic that came up, nodding in agreement, shaking his head in dissent, pouring one glass of whiskey after the other, shrugging when he was displeased, scratching his chin when the other party made a good point. 

Baekhyun found out that Kim Junmyeon was an amicable guest. He was extremely courteous towards Lady Tiffany's heir and Park Chanyeol's fiancé, not intrusive like Oh Sehun, but genial and jolly. He could put you at ease with a simple nod. The only grudge Baekhyun had with Kim Junmyeon was his timing, and tiding. 

They were well into their fourth course when Chanyeol finally decided to ask Junmyeon the purpose of his visit. Junmyeon was not someone who would drop in uninvited, or unannounced, without a good cause. That was Sehun's forte. Sehun liked giving surprises, especially the crude ones. 

"What brings you here, Jun?" 

Chanyeol saw Baekhyun look up from his oyster. Chanyeol saw the gentle bob of the Adam's apple. He knew enough about Baekhyun to know when the mortal was extremely displeased. The vampire inwardly chuckled and pulled his eyes away from the mortal's throat. 

"Can't I just drop in to savour the excellent delicacies? The Oyster a la Russe here is divine."

Chanyeol smiled recalling the panic Jongdae went into when Kim Junmyeon showed up out of the blue. Jongdae chewed Jongin's ear off while supervising the dinner preparations. Jongin was something of a slacker but when it came to cooking, he was a perfectionist. Huh. Speaking of perfection..the vampire's eyes found Baekhyun again, this time the vein on that well exposed throat. His hand tightened around the fork. Baekhyun had very little self preservation skills, why else would the mortal sit among two vampires so casually exposing his slim neck. The mortal was so unassuming that Chanyeol sometimes wondered if Baekhyun knew how charming his looks were, what a delight he was to old vampire eyes, and how pleasing that scent was. Chanyeol could happily overdose in the aristocrat's scent. 

Jongin could cook many delicacies but not the one morsel the vampire wanted to savour the most. The vampire watched his morsel dabbing at the oyster. He realised Junmyeon was still waiting for an answer. "Then by all means, stay for a week. I will have my cook come up with the most extravagant meals."

"I can't stay for that long. I must leave tomorrow morning itself."

"Any pressing commitments?" Chanyeol asked, knowing full well where Junmyeon meant to go. He had known all along why the head of his erstwhile coven was here. 

"I refuse to believe you completely forgot about Minseok's resurrection. There's barely a week left for Mayhem Masquerade Ball, and we must pay our respects to Kim Minseok."

Chanyeol chewed his food slowly, swallowed even slower. "Did you forget that I already told that I will not attend the last time you were here? I have no intention of going to the Masquerade."

Junmyeon winked happily. "I did not. Precisely why I am here. You will accompany me to the Mayhem Woods tomorrow."

The cherry vampire shook his head, smiling. "I will not. There are a million things I need to attend to. I bought a new thoroughbred. I have to take her on a ride."

"And Minseok only wakes up from his slumber once every hundred years. He will expect you to be there. I know, I know a lot of things have changed for you in the meantime, " Junmyeon's eyes found Baekhyun, "but for old times sake."

"Minseok can come visit me when he recovers from his deep sleep."

Junmyeon's face was stern now. "Absolutely not. You are going to accompany me tomorrow, and that's that."

"I won't. I can't."

"Why? Is it because of Baekhyun? You don't wish to leave him alone in your manor?"

Chanyeol glanced at Baekhyun, who paused drinking from his glass to look at both of them. The mortal could make himself inconspicuous; even with his beating heart and pulsing veins, if Baekhyun wanted to, he could recede in the shadows. What a lovely ability, the cherry vampire thought. 

"If you are hesitating because of Baekhyun, you have nothing to fear, really. All tramp and truant vampires are drawn to the Masquerade Ball. Why would someone come to your cold lands instead? To wrestle with your hounds? In any case, I have already taken the liberty to invite Sehun to stay in the manor in your absence. He will take care of everything."

"And Sehun agreed?" Chanyeol snorted. "Sehun has never missed Minseok's resurrection parties."

"What is Minseok's Mayhem Masquerade Ball?" Baekhyun wanted to know. 

Two pairs of vampire eyes looked at him.

Chanyeol took in Baekhyun's slight frown, the rigidity of his posture, the fingers gripping the table. The mortal was still not over what transpired earlier. He was still nonplussed at the interruption. His lovely streak of red was hidden under the glossy platinum blonde hair and Chanyeol wanted to reach out, to part the hair so that the rose red outshone everything in the room. 

"Kim Minseok is an ancient vampire who sleeps for a hundred years, and wakes up to a night of revelry and fun." Junmyeon explained to the mortal sweetly. "Sometimes he goes back to sleep the very next morning, sometimes he takes the trouble to inquire about the affairs of the world. The Mayhem Masquerade Ball is the most widely anticipated event in vampiredom, for varied reasons. Old vampires, new vampires, baby vampires, humans who are dating vampires, the good, the bad, all congregate from far and wide. All taboos are off. It is especially important for old vampires like us to be present in the Ball. It is a show of strength, of dominance, to gather together as one. It sends a message to baby vampires that your big daddies are watching your every move, and no matter how powerful you become, you can never best us. That is why, it is of utmost importance for Chanyeol to show up. He cannot not go. Baekhyun, I don't know if Lady Tiffany ever told you this, but without Chanyeol's assent, we do not and can not move ahead in important matters. And yes," Junmyeon turned to Chanyeol, "Sehun agreed to stay in Cherry Vampire manor for as long as you are away."

"Can I come along?" the mortal asked, eagerness in his voice. 

"Absolutely not!" Chanyeol said in a millisecond, displeased with the very idea. He was not one to turn down wishes that he could reasonably grant. He was not rigid like they made him out to be. But Baekhyun attending the Masquerade, absolutely not.

"But Junmyeon said humans attend the Ball."

Chanyeol wanted to snap, if only because he was irritated with the idea of Byun Baekhyun presenting himself, presenting his smell to others at such a ball, such a place, where no common decency prevailed. "The humans who are drawn to the Ball seek it out like addicts seek drugs. They crave depravity. They want to feed twenty different vampires with their cheap blood. They go to whore themselves out." He knew his words were uncharacteristically harsh. He just did not want the mortal to get ideas. "It's no place for an aristocrat like you. You will probably retch and throw up at the display of bodies and blood." The vampire knew he was frowning in displeasure and disgust but he could not help it. The Masquerade Ball was not a place for the mortal. They would crowd him and call him names, leer and jeer, touch and grope, not to mention Baekhyun would probably be the sweetest smelling delicacy in the ball. His eyes burned at the mere thought.

"Chanyeol would probably murder all the vampires who tease you in the Ball." Junmyeon chortled. 

"I will do no such thing." Chanyeol said acidly, but he knew he would do exactly that. He chalked it down to something other than tenderness and possessiveness. He did not have a possessive bone in his body. He would just be looking out for Baekhyun, and any vampire who tried to drink from the mortal would naturally have to cease on spot. "Besides, Lady Tiffany would write to me from her luxury liner if I exposed her virginal heir to such debauchery. End of discussion."

"She knows I am not virginal."

"That was not the point."

"The point is -" Junmyeon cut in, "I have already sent my car home. I can only attend if you attend."

Chanyeol snorted. "I could send you with Jongdae."

"Very well. Let me rephrase. I will go if you go."

"How can  _ you  _ not go? Minseok is your best friend."

"Oh okay, if you want me to go to my best friend's resurrection party, you will have to come along too."

"I want to go too." the mortal said, jaw set. It was such a ridiculous demand, Chanyeol visibly frowned now. Let the mortal think what he will. 

"Fine." Junmyeon told Chanyeol sensing an opportunity here. "I'll take Baekhyun with me if you don't come."

"I said I want to go." the mortal persisted. 

"The mortal stays." Chanyeol pressed quickly, "Very well, I'll go but the mortal absolutely stays here."

"I have a name?" the mortal was frowning now. 

Chanyeol ignored him. "Baekhyun stays here." he told Junmyeon. 

"Fine, Baekhyun stays."

"I want to go." the mortal was incorrigible. 

Junmyeon looked at him with kind eyes. "It isn't really a place for young aristocrats. You will be scandalized. So much nudity, the orgies at the side, the blasphemy. I'll invite you to our place next time Seulgi and I host dinner. You can sit and interact and sip Mimosa with elegant and well behaved vampires. The Masquerade Ball is messy, stinky..it is really no place for you, Baekhyun."

  
  
  


Sehun totally disagreed with Junmyeon. "That's precisely why they should have taken you along." he tut tutted, sitting in Baekhyun's room the next day, making himself at home. Chanyeol had left with Junmyeon early that morning. Jongdae had tagged along too. "You have probably sipped Mimosa with elegantly dressed people all your life. But tell me when have you participated in an orgy? Orgies are the best. Ooof! The best! I wouldn't miss it for the world." the young vampire smacked his lips.

Baekhyun appeared doubtful. 

"Okay, maybe not for a human. I hear you guys tire really easily." Sehun lifted his gorgeous figure off the bed and walked into the aristocrat's closet. "Do you have any flashy clothes in here or what?"

"So why didn't you go to the Masquerade Ball then?"

"Who said I am not going to the ball?" Sehun quickly sifted through Baekhyun's clothes. "You and Chanyeol really complement each other, you know? You dress like a prude. He dresses like a prude. No wonder there's no sex happening under this roof."

"You're going to the Ball?"

"No.  _ We're  _ going to the Ball." the vampire turned to look at Baekhyun, eyes flashing. "We have to go shopping first, rosebud. We need to get you new clothes, sexy ones, preferably black, mostly transparent. All humans dress like they're wishing for a vampire to devour them. Nobody dresses in boring tuxedos anymore. Your present clothes simply won't do."

Sehun was snapping his fingers. 

"We need accessories. A face chain. Maybe tie a few dangling feather extensions to your hair. Makeup that screams that you want dick. Chunky rings."

Baekhyun unconsciously touched the gold band on his ring finger. 

" _ Wait. Is that -?"  _ Sehun snatched the aristocrat's hand to examine the ring. "Satan's dick! It is! Fuck, it really is."

"Is what?" Baekhyun asked, getting excited along with Sehun for no reason. 

"He didn't tell you?" the young vampire looked surprised. "No one did? You don't  _ know _ ?"

Baekhyun shook his head, dying to know now.

"Wow." Sehun said, tut tutting next. "So Chanyeol just gave you that ring and kept quiet about it? He is as boring as ever, I see."

Baekhyun felt a blush steal its way to his cheeks. "I told him it was ugly."

Sehun fell silent, as though mourning. 

"And what about it?" Baekhyun clawed at Sehun's shirt, begging to know.

"That ring, my dear rosebud, is Empress Josephine's engagement ring, given to her by her husband Napoleon. It sold for a million dollars a couple of years ago to some nameless buyer. Wow. Chanyeol must have really pulled some big plugs to get you this ring. And you called it ugly. What would I not give to look at his face when you must have said that."

"It is ugly." Baekhyun maintained, even as his heart softened towards the item in question.

"It's priceless. You must thank Chanyeol for acquiring this for you the next time you see him -"

"I will-"

"by getting down on your knees and sucking his cock -"

".."

"next week when we go to the Masquerade."

".."

"Don't tell me you don't want to." Sehun winked.

  
  
  


The unlikely pair went shopping soon and Sehun really bought him a face chain. "Masks are passé. Face chains are in. This is how you wear it. Let me show you, c'mon."

"Are you sure Chanyeol won't be mad? He seemed pretty rigid about me attending the ball."

"We will just avoid him then. You need to know our ways, you deserve to know. You will not be around for the next Mayhem Masquerade Ball, might as well enjoy it while you can."

Sehun was right. So, the young aristocrat cast all his aspersions aside and let the vampire plan. "However, rosebud, you may not eat or drink any food they offer you. Everything is laced at the Ball."

"With what?"

"Aphrodisiacs, what else?"

"Oh."

"And if somebody offers you a nicely decorated plate of pastry, or dessert, you may  _ not _ accept it."

"Why not?"

Sehun smirked. "In the Ball, vampires will come up to you with dessert trays, and offer from the plate. It's a polite form of invitation to sex. If you accept a pastry, they will lead you to these rooms upstairs and do what vampires do best."

"Kill me?"

"Noooooo, rosebud, no. They'll fuck the life out of you, drink from your veins and by morning, you'll be weak and aching but still crying out for more."

"Why do humans go to such places. They could easily get killed."

"Actually, no. Killing a human isn't allowed at the Ball. It's the day Minseok resurrects himself. He doesn't want to see dead people. He wants to see half naked people lying around with other half naked people. And humans throng to these places to get laid because vampire's seed in the system is like a cashless plastic surgery. You look twenty years younger."

"Like Botox?"

"Exactly."

Sehun spoke of so many rules in Baekhyun's ear that by the time both of them actually alighted on the front porch of Kim Minseok's dazzling house in the midst of Mayhem Woods, the aristocrat's head was all muzzled up. If Baekhyun thought that he would be hounded and pestered by dozens of vampires, begging to drink from him, he was so wrong. 

The place was so chockablock with humans that he was just another human in their midst. It was dark, ill lit, with pink, blue and yellow smoke rising from the floors like sea nymphs. The music was so loud that Sehun had to grab Baekhyun's hand to guide him around, the aristocrat couldn't hear a thing. Some were dancing, some were humping to music, someone just slapped someone, someone shrieked. No wonder Park Chanyeol tried to avoid coming. 

The old vampires usually congregated in the basement while the party went on in the ground floor. It was not exactly a Masquerade Ball, it was a rave party. Maybe centuries ago, people did wear tuxedos and masks while attending this event but in the 21st century, all Baekhyun saw were unmasked faces with loud makeup. 

The young aristocrat almost tripped on a pair making out on the floor. When they tried to pull Baekhyun in for a threesome, Sehun had to intervene. Baekhyun laughed along nervously with Sehun. As his eyes gradually grew accustomed to the dark, not all things Baekhyun saw were as harmless as a couple asking for a threesome. He saw two vampires feeding from a girl who looked no more than twenty. 

"She doesn't need rescuing. C'mon." Sehun pulled him away. 

Too many girls, vampires and humans alike, were vying for Sehun's attention. The vampires snarled at Baekhyun, who was sticking to Sehun's side, scared of being either pulled or pushed away by the crowd.

The young vampire was afterall young. He dragged Baekhyun to one corner and asked him to stay put. "Just give me five minutes. I need to find a willing person and drink from them before I go mad with thirst. You stay here. And remember, no vampire can hurt you here. It's against the rules. If someone comes with dessert, just say no. They'll go away. If someone persists, tell them whose fiancé you are and watch them run away. Okay. No desserts."

Baekhyun nodded, egging Sehun to go and drink before he lost his mind. The young vampire was looking pale and pointy from thirst. The aristocrat was perfectly at ease here; nobody minded him. Not everyone was drinking either, some were huddled around low tables and laughing, just catching up. It wasn't as depraved as Chanyeol made it out to be. He was having fun, actually, seeing vampires drunk on blood, or high on aphrodisiacs. He didn't have a vampire's sense of smell but guessed that if he had sharp senses like vampires, he would get drunk just by smelling the cocktail of vampires, humans, blood and lust. 

A lady vampire approached him, fangs already out and eyes dark with desire. "You with the face chain," she drawled, voice very pleasant to the ear, "baby, won't you accept one pastry?"

"No, mam." Baekhyun smiled, embarrassed because he was wearing a see through top under his leather jacket.

"You smell so nice."

"Thank you, mam."

"With a mouth like that, I'd let you eat me along with the cake." the vampire laughed airily, before moving away to find willing candidates. 

Baekhyun shook his head, heart fluttering with nervousness and desire.

A waiter solemnly approached him after the lady vampire left, offering drinks from a tray. Lilac smoke emerged from the crystal glasses containing liquid clear as water. "Drinks for mortals, sir." he said. 

And Baekhyun thought to himself, how thoughtful it was of the host to provide harmless drinks for mortals. Such a considerate host. He happily reached out for the glass of liquid. 

  
  


Chanyeol, sitting among other old vampires in Minseok's basement, thought he was hallucinating at first. It was entirely plausible. Why else would he be able to smell Baekhyun's lingering scent in the air. He did not think much of it, nevertheless happy to have Baekhyun's unique smell wafting in the air, if only induced by his own will. Everything else was so boring. The same old faces. The same old music. The same place. The same stench of vampire and human desire creating a nauseating mix.

Something made Chanyeol listen in to the multitudes of heartbeats. He was only hallucinating, but wouldn't it be weird to hear Baekhyun's familiar heartbeat in this place. He sorted through the many hundreds of heartbeats, pounding, the frenzied, the restless, the mad ones, and stopped only when a beautiful flutter, like the hum of a butterfly beating its wings in spring air - magically floated in his ears. 

The vampire sat up, listening for more. He was not hallucinating, Baekhyun was really here, with his sunshine scent and butterfly heart. He could never mistake this sound. It was like a hymn, with its own rhythm. He would know this heartbeat even if he was buried twenty thousand feet underground. 

"Anything the matter?" Junmyeon asked. 

Chanyeol took a deep breath. "Do you think it was a good idea to let Sehun babysit the mortal?"

"Why do you ask now, all of a sudden?"

But Chanyeol did not reply, he went quiet, listening to a conversation upstairs. A lady's voice. Vampire's fangs, she was offering him a pastry! Chanyeol went blue and green. What upstart vampire was she, who dared invite his fiancé to private rooms? He heard Baekhyun say no, and did not miss the frenzied flutter. This was Baekhyun getting embarrassed, it was a lovely rhythm, very delightful. Chanyeol hated that Baekhyun heart could sing like this even when he was not around. 

" _ I'd let you eat me along with cake."  _ she laughed. Foolish woman. Too bad murder was forbidden in Minseok's house. 

_ "Drinks for mortals"  _ Chanyeol heard next, and immediately stood up in mild panic. 

" _ Wow, thank you."  _ the mortal said, as innocent as ever. 

"Where are you going?" Junmyeon shouted after him, but Chanyeol paid him zero heed.

  
  
  
  


Sehun came back from feeding to find Baekhyun happily sipping from a clear liquid emitting lilac smoke. He had never felt more betrayed in his life. "Why are you drinking that?" he groaned, trying to wrestle the drink away from the human fingers. 

"It's a drink for mortals. It's safe." Baekhyun would not part with the drink. 

"I told you all drinks are laced with aphrodisiacs, didn't I?" he shouted, pale again, and panicking now. 

"But the waiter said this drink is for mortals."

"Do you think vampires need aphrodisiacs?" Sehun groaned, eyes frantic, "of course these drinks are for mortals. You guys need it, we don't. Dear Dracula, we need to find your fiancé before this kicks in."

Baekhyun finally let go of his drink, looking up at Sehun worriedly. 

"If you end up on the floor with some other vampire, Chanyeol will skin me alive. Fuck.  _ Fuck!  _ Oh, you are a horrible, horrible human. Man, I need a drink, my head's pounding all thanks to you."

"What will happen to me? It can't be that bad. I can control myself. Don't worry. I'll just sit in a corner and wait for it to pass."

"It won't pass until a vampire sucks the poison out of your system, or fucks the living daylights out of you, or both, what do you know. Uff! You are big trouble."

"I'll just..take care of it myself." Baekhyun said in a low voice. 

Sehun grabbed his arms and shook him then. "Look at me, look in my eyes. You can't  _ take care of it on your own.  _ You're going to need someone. So come with me and let's find your fiancé. You're going to lose it. It is unbearable if you don't get help from someone. Come along, come."

Baekhyun dragged his feet, suddenly feeling very hot and sweaty. "I don't feel too good." he told Sehun's back feebly.

"That's why we need to hurry. Come."

"Where are we going?"

"To the basement. Chanyeol should be there"

They found Chanyeol on the staircase that led to the basement. He was fuming, and looked very, very displeased. But when Baekhyun locked eyes with his cherry vampire, something happened. His blood boiled and all of it flowed like molten lava towards the base of his stomach. He emitted an involuntary groan at the sight of Chanyeol. 

"What have you done!" His fiancé raged at Sehun, and he had never seen Chanyeol look so angry. The vampire was saying one thing after the other but Baekhyun had difficulty focusing on his words. The world was moving too fast, and he was slowing down. Or perhaps, it was the other way round. 

His limbs were on fire, he felt so weak, he wanted to fall to the floor, or cling to Chanyeol, maybe both.

"You can scold me later." He heard Sehun's voice through the haze. "Take care of your fiancé first."

Baekhyun looked at Chanyeol expectantly. Chanyeol was going to take care of him, he suddenly realised. The pain would go away, the haze would clear. Yes, he wanted this. 

"If you don't," Sehun said when Chanyeol remained silent , voice a low warning, "I will."

No, Baekhyun thought unhappily. He needed Chanyeol to put him at ease. He wanted Chanyeol to touch him where it was burning right now. Only Chanyeol. 

" Do you really want to?" Baekhyun heard Chanyeol say. "If you do, I am not going to stop you."

No, thought Baekhyun, frantic eyes looking up at the two vampires. He had not even realised when he crouched on the floor, trying to ease the throbbing in his loins. 

Sehun was angry, he looked so angry for some reason. Baekhyun was at once hurt and confused by both their stances, but he could not think clearly enough. It felt like his skin was burning, and fire and smoke would come out if one were to pierce his heart with a knife. All he wanted was Chanyeol in that moment, Chanyeol all over him, tending to him, filling him, pasting a rust coloured stain all over him so that it would not go away even if he rubbed and rubbed and washed for years. 

"So you're going to be like this? You're going to be like this even now,  _ with Baekhyun suffering like this, at your feet?  _ You're really going to act like it was your fault, until the very end, aren't you? You can't beat yourself up for something that wasn't in your power. You couldn't have avoided it. You are not responsible.  _ He _ isn't responsible for what happened to us. Look at him. He needs you right now."

"Everyone moved on except you. _ "  _ Baekhyun heard Sehun say, not understanding a word of it. _ "I moved on.  _ We would have wanted you to be happy _ ."  _

"Shut up Sehun!"

There was silence for a while, a painful pause which would just not end. Baekhyun felt immense pain in his hands, he wanted to claw at something to ease it.

"Yes okay, I'm taking him then." Sehun said. He dragged Baekhyun upstairs. No! Baekhyun thought, fighting with a thousand desires and a thousand knives. He wanted Chanyeol. 

A polite attendant barred them from entering a private room. "I am sorry, sir. No pastry tray, no entry. You cannot force yourself upon an unwilling human. It isn't allowed."

"Dracula's Dick!" Sehun cursed, pulling Baekhyun away from that corridor. "You're such a major pain in the ass Baekhyun. Can you walk just a bit more? I'll get you a bed, wait."

Baekhyun didn't think he was entirely conscious of where they were, or who he was with. He just kept breathing deep and slow, riding out the waves of heat and nausea. 

Sehun kicked open a door and barked at a pair who were in the process of undressing each other. "Leave before I snap both of your necks. I'll count till five."

The couple looked as if they had encountered a rabid dog. After seeing the half conscious state Baekhyun was in, they looked at Sehun in pure disgust. "Pervert." the girl, a human, muttered under her breath as she stepped past him. 

Sehun rolled his eyes.

"What are you going to do with me?" Baekhyun asked slowly, uncertainty, when Sehun closed the door. 

Sehun sighed. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I'll just sit here by the door and wait."

Baekhyun sat on the bed, sadly looking at the young vampire. "Chanyeol does not want me, does he? I am sorry for ruining your night." He didn't hear Sehun answer, doubling over in pain as another wave of heat coursed through him. He groaned like a dog in heat, grasping at a pillow and almost tearing it apart. 

"Hey." Sehun called out, still near the door, looking very very afraid of Baekhyun. 

"I am in pain." Baekhyun cried out, hot tears running down his cheeks, "I am in so much pain but Chanyeol doesn't even care. Can't he suck all my blood out and leave me to die. Everywhere hurts."

As Baekhyun lay on the bed and sobbed, the door flew open. It was Chanyeol, looking very concerned and equally miffed. 

"I'll leave now." Sehun said coldly. 

Chanyeol did not spare Sehun any glance. His eyes were on the mortal, the wet cheeks and balled up fists. He quietly latched the door and took Sehun's place. 

"Why won't you come near?" Baekhyun asked, still crying. "If I beg, will you come nearer." He was beginning to say something else but his face scrunched in the fresh wave of pain that greeted him. 

"Where does it hurt?" the vampire was immediately beside him, rubbing his back.

Baekhyun grasped at Chanyeol's shirt,"Everywhere. Make it go away. Make it go away. Please. I am begging you." He clung to Chanyeol's neck and pulled him closer. "Want you." he said weakly, helplessly. 

"You don't want this." Chanyeol tried to reason with him, wiping away the sweat from his feverish brow. "It's the drink you ingested." 

Baekhyun's eyes fluttered close as Chanyeol's palm made contact with his skin, soothing him instantaneously. "I want this." he whispered, eyes still close, "I have wanted this ever since…" he paused, rejoicing that Chanyeol was wiping the wetness off his cheeks now, "ever since I saw you with your hounds. I didn't realise it then, but, can you care just a little bit for me, like how you care for your hounds?"

He waited with his eyes closed. He waited with his eyes open. The vampire was still tracing his cheek with one thumb. When Chanyeol pulled his hand away, Baekhyun groaned, the fire in his belly raising its head. "Please touch me." he pleaded. "I really, really, really need you to touch me tonight."

The vampire nodded, providing Baekhyun with instant relief. "I'll take care of you. I'll..be everything you wish me to be tonight. I am here. Don't cry."

"Take me then." 

Chanyeol pressed a kiss on Baekhyun's lips instead, immediately making the latter senseless and wordless. As the vampire sucked the red lip tint off Baekhyun's lips, he felt the embers in the pit of his stomach agreeing to this kind of assault. The raging bonfire inside simmered to deliciously burning desire, the pain melted away. Thoughts took their place, the thought of being ripped apart by the vampire, the thought of being undressed and pushed to the bed and mounted. 

Baekhyun pulled himself away from the vampire's kiss. Kisses are fine, he thought. But what good were they if they didn't lead to anything more. He pulled at his face chain and miserable failed at it. The vampire helped him carefully untangle it from his ears. It felt in a jingle to the floor, a pleasant sound. Baekhyun struggled with his jacket next, and Chanyeol had to help him with it again. 

"Why can't I open my damn clothes!" he cried in frustration. 

"Shhh." Chanyeol placated, "I'll do it for you, okay? Don't cry." Baekhyun might have felt an iota of shame on any other day, of divesting himself of his clothes. But tonight, he really wanted the vampire to see how curvy his hips were, and how shapely his bum. He wanted Chanyeol to bite his hips and draw blood until he fainted with delirium. He didn't realise he spoke it out loud. 

"I really want you to see me naked. I want to put myself on display tonight. I have no shame."

"Yes, okay." Chanyeol played along, tenderly tugging away at Baekhyun's clothes. Baekhyun didn't even realise he was nude down there until the vampire's hands started roaming that area. He arched his back as the vampire's hands trailed over his hips. "Does this ease your pain?" he asked.

"Mm hmm." Baekhyun smiled shyly. He was happy now."A little."

Chanyeol bent forward and kissed the tip of his cock. "Better?"

Baekhyun's smile was wide now. "A little." he said. 

"And now?" Chanyeol parted Baekhyun's flesh and found a secret spot. 

The mortal's eyes flew open. "Yes," he said, looking very proud, very content. 

"Where does it hurt now?"

"Everywhere you don't touch." Baekhyun replied earnestly, and closed his eyes again, lying on the bed wearing that teasing see through top and exposed nether region.

Chanyeol didn't realise when his control faded away, perhaps when they kissed, with the vampire finally allowing himself a taste of the mortal. Or maybe his control slipped out of his grasp when he saw Baekhyun with the sheer top and face chain for the first time that evening. 

It was the most annoying piece of clothing ever. The vampire wanted to destroy that thin fabric with his bare hands. The mortal opened his sweet, seductive eyes when Chanyeol started to tear the material away from Baekhyun's body. It was a slow and deliberate act at first, but when the mortal's smokey eyes met his, Chanyeol felt such a terrible hunger, he just tore the top away from Baekhyun's chest with a single movement. 

The animalistic side of him wanted to eat this human, bit by bit until only his consciousness remained and nothing else. He was so hungry for this mortal, so hungry for so long. The entire naked expanse was a valley full of tease. Chanyeol suddenly wanted to free his cock and run it along the mortal's dips and valleys. He shrugged out of his clothes as quickly as he had ripped apart Baekhyun's top. 

"I really want to eat you." he admitted, making the aristocrat smile again. Dracula's Dick! He wanted to shout out in victory every time he made the mortal smile like that. 

_ I'd let you eat me along with cake  _

Those words annoyed Chanyeol. He was irritated at the mere sight of the plate of pastries that were placed harmlessly on the bedside table. The previous occupants of the room had fled from Sehun without taking this plate away. 

The vampire grabbed one piece from among the many and smeared the soft icing all over Baekhyun's tummy. The mortal giggled. The mortal's giggles were like music. 

"What is so funny?" he asked mildly.

"You seem hungry."

"Darling, you have no idea." Chanyeol grabbed another handful of cake messily and spread it over Baekhyun's erect dick. "I want to eat you, with cake." The mortal gasped as Chanyeol licked at the icing slowly. "Mm. How delicious." He smacked his lips. "How about this?" he asked, applying bits of cake and cream over Baekhyun's asshole. 

This made the mortal squirm in pleasure. 

"Like it? Then have some more." He took another piece of pastry and flattened it against Baekhyun's entrance, generously lathering the area with cream. The mortal whined in pleasure when Chanyeol ate all that cake, along with his butthole. Chanyeol's tongue licked at the sensitive skin, leaving nothing behind, forcing its way inside the gloryhole. 

Baekhyun almost sat up. "Chanyeol, please. Please." he whispered, fully in the calf throes of desire now. 

Chanyeol licked the entire area clean, slowly and diligently and punishingly. "You keep saying, Chanyeol please. Please what?"

"Please end my agony." Baekhyun finished. 

"How?"

"You know how."

"If you spell it out for me, I will do exactly that."

Baekhyun showed him his tongue. "Then feed me more cake." he said. 

"Cheeky rosebud!" Chanyeol exclaimed, turning Baekhyun over, and almost climbing atop him. "I need you on all fours, babe."

Baekhyun complied. He giggled when Chanyeol gathered the remaining pastries in his large hand and squirmed in delight at the sensation of the soft things being crushed against his opening. There was cream on his thighs, his dick, smeared all over his entrance. The vampire cleaned his hand of the icing by rubbing the remnants on Baekhyun's butt. 

His fingers were greased up with butter and cream. 

Baekhyun's little bonfire was hugely satisfied when Chanyeol's finger slithered inside his hole. It was even more satisfied when a second finger joined in and started a scissoring motion, pushing his walls wider. The vampire paid the special hole a lot of attention in this manner. When Baekhyun started to beg, Chanyeol pulled his fingers out and sucked them thoroughly. 

"Please."

"Please what?"

"Kiss me."

Chanyeol kissed Baekhyun's gaping hole, smooched it, tasting bodily fluid and cream, loving it. He pushed inside then, slowly at first, then almost to the hilt. 

The fire inside Baekhyun was dancing giddily now. He bit his lip and moaned.

"Like this?"

"Mm."

"And this."

"Mm." 

"And now?"

"Harder."

"Like this?"

"Yes. Yes. Oh. Right there. Like that."

"Babe.." Chanyeol whispered. 

"Harder." Baekhyun moaned, almost as if he was scolding.

"But there is no hurry. I could do this till morning."

"No. Harder. Please."

Maybe it was the effect of the aphrodisiac, Baekhyun came with just a few thrusts, spilling his own cream to the mix of cake and icing littered on the bed. 

The vampire paused long enough for Baekhyun to spill his entire load, before picking up rhythm again.

  
  


"I'm not even close." Chanyeol whispered, pulling himself in and out of Baekhyun's welcoming hole. 

"Mm." Baekhyun whispered weakly. "Stop. Stop." he said suddenly, bringing a pause to Chanyeol's hips.

"What? Are you hurt somewhere?"

"No," Baekhyun turned around as Chanyeol slipped out of him, "I want to see your face now. I'll sit on your lap."

The mortal made them change positions and lowered himself carefully on Chanyeol dick. "Yes, like this." he said, bobbing on the vampire's thighs. 

Chanyeol's hands were on Baekhyun's bums, supporting his movements. "You are clever, rosebud, but I see through you. You're just playfully presenting your neck to me. Hm?"

Baekhyun hugged Chanyeol close, even as he felt his dick stir again. The aphrodisiac worked wonders, he thought. His movements caught speed. "I want you to suck the poison out of me."

"Fucking you like this would do. Why do you want my complete surrender?"

"Because it hurts."

"You're lying." Chanyeol gripped Baekhyun's head and pulled him closer for a delicious smooch. "Liar."

"Lover." Baekhyun said simply, locking eyes. 

Chanyeol pulled the mortal towards him again then and nuzzled at the base of the neck. He felt his fangs elongate in response to his will, grazing against the tender skin. He pushed Baekhyun back on the bed, and chased the hole with his dick, entering it just as Baekhyun's back met the bed. "Lover." he thought, biting at the neck with a precise motion so that it would hurt the least. 

Chanyeol knew it would taste good, Baekhyun's blood. He could smell it through the skin everyday and by and by he realised Baekhyun's blood would be extremely filling. He just didn't know how much, and in what ways. 

This was beyond anything he had ever tasted in his life. This was like fucking Baekhyun, but multiplied. Chanyeol was shocked and stumped the way his cock reacted to the taste of the blood. It went into a frenzy, desperately moving inside Beekhyun, chasing for release. Chanyeol's dick spilled all his load out the minute he tasted Baekhyun's blood. It was surreal. He wasn't prepared for this. Not at all. How was he to know, he would finally meet The One, in a Masquerade Ball, as an enemy's heir. His fiancé. His beautiful, desirable fiancé was The One. And his blood tasted like ichor. 

As Chanyeol drank another gulpful from Baekhyun, he felt heat in his loins again, and the dick that he had yet to pull out, started to move inside Baekhyun of its own accord. "Mph." he moaned, snapping his hips crazily. This was his first novel feeling after many, many years of existing. He was thirsty. He was horny. He was overcome with love. He never wanted to let go of Baekhyun. 

  
  


  
  
  



	7. Part Seven - Scarlet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please enjoy the final chapter. xoxo.

Chanyeol stared at the scarlet wound in Baekhyun's neck, red like an emblem, red that his fangs left behind,  _ red _ , like a declaration of love. The mortal had fallen into a daze, unconscious and yet not quite. Afterall, Baekhyun could only take so much simulation for one night. Being bitten and sucked by a vampire on top of ingesting questionable liquid served in Minseok's Mayhem Masquerade Ball would leave even the best ones weak on their knees, and Baekhyun was but a mortal. 

Chanyeol stared and stared and stared like he had never stared at the young aristocrat. The rosebud shaped lips were slightly parted, soft breaths escaping from the little gap, warm breaths that could only belong to a person who had been well pleased in bed. The vampire allowed himself a smile, and drew closer to that mouth, inhaling the scent. But he should drink no more, he told himself; he had already allowed himself a generous dose. 

He didn't even realise when he lost control, the taste of Baekhyun's blood so overpowering,  _ ichor.  _ Red like love. Red like all the passion fire that was buried inside Chanyeol, red like the torment he was in right now, this close to sucking the mortal dry, and yet not wanting to hurt his person, his one. 

He should have known, Chanyeol thought, lightly tracing the aristocrat's eyebrow with a long finger. He should have known that Baekhyun was the one for him. He should have known that very first day Jongdae pointed Baekhyun out to him from among a crowd of college goers. 

It felt like eons ago, even for someone as old as him, that first time Chanyeol had laid eyes on the aristocrat. The vampire was in the city on Kris Wu's behest, and the car had stopped at a red light. They were staring at the pedestrians using the zebra crossing when Jongdae pointed Baekhyun out to him. "Master, look! Lady Tiffany's sole heir."

Lady Tiffany's sole heir was laughing under the autumn sun, hair flying this way and that, the streak of red hair so eye-catching, like a single rose in the snow, meant to be looked at, meant to be adored, meant to be plucked from its surroundings and kept close to one's heart. 

The vampire itched to do the plucking.

Chanyeol had gazed at the boy back then, at the red streak that ran along his hair, wondering why in all these years, after all these decades, why this person was meant to be his fiancé. Was there a higher power that decided these things, or was it pure chance. 

The vampire knew now, Baekhyun was no chance encounter. Baekhyun was  _ the  _ encounter, the one, in a sea of people, Baekhyun was his and he was Baekhyun's. These things were written in stone, even Park Chanyeol could not refute the totality of what this meant. He had found his person, and he was supposed to cherish and protect. What should he do with this knowledge! 

"Babe." he whispered, and his eyebrows creased. Chanyeol felt diminished, like someone who had discovered a flaw in himself. He was after all not as good as he prided himself to be. He had set out to avenge his fallen friend but in return, he was handed something so valuable, so pure. He felt small. How could he have been so lofty, so proud, thinking that he would bring an entire family to their knees. 

Wasn't he himself on his knees now! Lady Tiffany's heir did not have to do a thing but just breathe in his presence with that fluttering heart. Chanyeol had been in danger that very first evening they met under Cherry Vampire manor. The young aristocrat really took no time in developing a harmless crush, and he, Chanyeol, he liked it, didn't he? He liked being the object of Baekhyun's attention. He should, of all things, be grateful to the rosebud. He had attempted to pluck it out of its surroundings and hold it inside an ice tower. Baekhyun gave only affection in return. The ice tower melted but by bit, day by every day.

That Baekhyun's blood was his  _ ichor  _ was a secondary and small matter. A minor detail to all the details that had been adding up ever since. He should have looked at himself in the mirror long ago. Perhaps he would have noticed that the edges have softened, the darkness receded, the poison cured. Chanyeol should have known the day Baekhyun walked inside the manor with his wildly beating heart. 

Baekhyun was a tiny bud of curiosity that had bloomed into an obsession for him. 

Chanyeol should have known the day wildflowers bloomed at the heart of his estate. Jongdae was so ecstatic when he brought the news. "Trees are bearing flowers in the woods. Your heart, it is melting, is it not?"

The vampire had refused to read too much into this, but maybe it was time the snow melted away. Winters would always and inevitably give into spring, and Cherry Vampire manor had been draped in snow for too long. Baekhyun would love spring season, he thought, smiling. 

Baekhyun opened his eyes to a vampire smiling, and reciprocated with a groan. "I feel faint." he whispered, reaching out to grab at Chanyeol. The aristocrat grabbed a tuft of the vampires's hair. "Is this a dream?"

Chanyeol placed a hand over Baekhyun's. "No, dearest." He brought the mortal's hand to his lips and kissed it. 

Baekhyun smiled, and closed his eyes. "That's nice." he whispered. "Where are we?" The aristocrat was in delirium. 

"We are at Minseok's place, rosebud."

Baekhyun opened his eyes, frowning, as if in complaint. "Why aren't we home? I like it better there."

Chanyeol rubbed his cheek against Baekhyun's palm. "I'll take you there. Just sleep for a bit. When you wake up, you'll be home."

Baekhyun batted his eyes. "Why are you naked?" He looked genuinely puzzled.

"We made love, my dearest. But you are delirious now, you drank something. Come, let's go home."

Baekhyun giggled as the vampire tended to him, "We had sex?"

"Yes."

"The cherry vampire lies."

Chanyeol shook his head, shushing Baekhyun with a finger to the lips. "Sleep." he said, and the mortal fell into a stupor. He hastily grabbed his clothes and put them on. Next, the vampire folded Baekhyun's clothes and placed them on the bed. He will have Jongdae fetch these later. Chanyeol bundled the sleeping aristocrat in the velvet coverlet and carried him bridal style out of the room.

Sehun was waiting. "Is he going to be alright?" 

"He will be fine once he sleeps it off." Chanyeol replied, holding the mortal close to his chest. "Jongdae will take a look and know what draught to give. Why are you here? Why aren't you off downstairs fornicating?"

"I owe you an apology." Sehun began but Chanyeol cut him off impatiently. "You do. Exposing Baekhyun to Minseok's Masquerade was not right on your part. But I don't wish to hold it against you." Chanyeol adjusted Baekhyun in his arms and started walking away. 

Sehun followed hot on his trail. "Just as I don't hold anything against you. All these years, I have held nothing against you. Maybe initially, I..I may have. I don't know. I was young. I was confused. I may have said the wrong things. But now, I just want to see you happy. Can't you see, there is nothing to atone for. I want you to be happy. With him. You must free yourself, free all of us. The only reason I brought Baekhyun here was because I wanted the two of you -"

"That's enough." Chanyeol said, face impassive. "My concern right now is to get Baekhyun home and have Jongdae take a look at him. I know you are concerned. I'll be more than happy if you come by sometime next month." He looked at Sehun with a gleam in his eyes, "Trees around the manor are beginning to bloom. You'll like the sight of spring."

Sehun's face broke into a wide smile when he heard that. "Yes, I'd love that very much."

"Now go tell the others I had to leave. And have fun. You have worried enough for one night. Don't burden yourself any further. I understand your heart. I'll keep it in mind."

  
  
  
The vampire was anxious as they drove home. "Why is he burning up? Is he supposed to catch a fever?" He felt Baekhyun's forehead, and worry pinched his own. 

Jongdae was sitting beside the driver. He did not even turn to look. "Well Master, you can't bite someone and then not expect them to have a fever. Did you draw a lot of blood?"

"Not much. I was careful. Can't you do something about the fever?" Worry was evident in the vampire's voice. He was holding Baekhyun to his chest like a treasured babe. 

"When he wakes up, we will have him sip a little of  _ your _ blood. That's the tried and tested medicine for infections and fevers caused by contact with vampire fangs."

"Blood makes him queasy." Chanyeol remarked unhappily. 

"Well then, Master." the  _ loyal dog  _ replied, "even without your blood, the fever will subside naturally in a day or two. Any remaining side effects will vanish within a fortnight. Nothing to worry."

"Side effects?"

Jongdae shrugged, "The usual. Nausea. Confusion. Loss of short term memory. The human body will struggle to come to terms with the fact that it got bitten by a vampire."

Chanyeol groaned.

"Nothing fatal. He may forget that he was bitten, and the events that immediately preceded or succeeded it. It is just a mortal's way of dealing with the shock of being attacked by a predator. He will come around slowly."

"That happens only when one is bitten against will." Chanyeol reminded.

"Ah, Master. We can't know for sure. You see, drinks served at Kim Minseok's are so potent, they are poisonous all on their own. On top of that, Baekhyun got bitten. Who knows how a mortal's body might react. We shall know when he wakes up. But I am certain there is nothing to worry about."

"I am not worried."

If you say so, thought Jongdae cheerfully. He did feel a little bad for the aristocrat who may have to battle with fever for a couple of days. He felt a little bad for the vampire as well, because try as he might, Park Chanyeol could not keep the concern off his usually cold face. Overall, his shipper heart was ecstatic. What a marvellous turn of events, he thought. 

"I hope this isn't life threatening?" the vampire spoke up after some time.

"Ah!" Jongdae said, "It isn't. But it is good that you remember that he is a mortal. You must cherish him for however long he is with you. Their lives are so fleeting." The  _ loyal dog  _ sounded very cheerful.

Chanyeol held the rosebud boy closest to his heart. In that moment, Chanyeol felt like he could carve his own heart out if Baekhyun was in any form of danger. How could he let Baekhyun fade away ever? How could he hold on to ancient grudges when the present was this beautiful, with plum cheeks and cherry lips . He kissed the mortal's forehead. 

"Will he catch a fever every time I drink from him?" he asked, barely raising his voice.

Jongdae finally turned to look at him, genuine surprise in his voice, "Are you planning to drink? I thought..I thought you bit him to draw the poison out. I -"

The vampire observed the amazement in the  _ loyal dog's  _ face. "Something happened to me when I tasted his blood."

"!!"

"Something very unique."

"Master!"

"I know." Chanyeol breathed, "I am a little confused and a little overjoyed. I cannot explain this feeling."

"Master, I - my heartiest congratulations."

Chanyeol was silent for a long time. "He is really truly only mine now."

  
  


When Baekhyun opened his eyes, he was lying on a warm bed covered with thick blankets, comfortable as comfortable could be in the vampire's bedroom. His head hurt though; his neck itched.

"Don't even try to get up." the _loyal dog's _voice came from somewhere closeby. The very next second, a familiar face hovered over him. "You are unwell."

Baekhyun lay back on the bed, confusion writ clear on his face. "Where's Chanyeol?"

"Master left for the factory." Jongdae produced a bowl and soup out of nowhere. "Let's try and drink this medicine, shall we?"

Baekhyun's eyes darted around the room. He has been here once, twice. It felt like a lifetime ago."Why am I lying on Chanyeol's bed?" 

"Your fiancé can't enter your room, so he brought you here. You were burning up with a fever last night, he sat beside you the entire time. Now, take a spoonful of this. Once you get better, your fiance can stop worrying about you."

Baekhyun peered at the bowl _ ,  _ "What is that? I am not drinking that."

"Sigh! Master did say you won't drink it."

"What is it? Take it away."

"It  _ blood."  _

_ " _ Ewwwww. Urghhh. Pthoo."

"It's a concoction mixed with Master's blood."

Baekhyun straightened his face. "Oh?"

"Do you even remember what you and Oh Sehun were upto?  _ Can _ you remember?"

Baekhyun nodded his head, looking slightly ashamed. 

"You even ended up drinking something, do you remember  _ that _ ?"

The aristocrat nodded, not meeting the  _ loyal dog's  _ eyes now. "Jongdae, I did something really bad, didn't I?"

Jongdae sighed and clicked his tongue. He stirred the bowl of medicine slowly. "Sneaking off to the Mayhem Woods with Oh Sehun. Drinking questionable liquids. For sure, you did something bad. Be thankful Master gets really soft whenever you are concerned. If it were me and Oh Sehun,  _ ooooooh.  _ We would have paid dearly."

"Chanyeol wouldn't have punished you." Baekhyun said defensively. 

"Oh, you have no idea. Now be a good boy and drink this medicine."

"I can't." Baekhyun cried, "I'll puke." 

"Then how will you get better?" Jongdae looked like an angry matron. 

Baekhyun slithered under the covers and shook his head.

"Master had to suck the poisonous blood out. Do you even remember?"

The young aristocrat hid further under the covers. 

"So you do. How do you expect to recover from a vampire's bite if you don't drink this?"

"What if I don't take the medicine?"

"I won't lie. Your fever will eventually vanish," Jongdae admitted grudgingly. "But it will take some time for the weakness to go. Don't you want the weakness to go away?"

Baekhyun shook his head. "Blood. Blerghhh."

  
  
  


When Park Chanyeol returned from the factory, Baekhyun was fast asleep. "How is he?" 

"He is much better. The fever has receded but he is still weak. He refused to drink the medicine." Jongdae's tone was full of complaint.

The vampire smiled. "You can't expect a human to drink blood willingly. Does he remember what led to this?"

"Yeah, he remembers everything." 

Chanyeol was pleased.

  
  


The vampire sat beside the slumbering Baekhyun, and felt his forehead. The fever had indeed receded. When he tapped the tip of Baekhyun's nose just out of curiosity, the aristocrat opened his sleep filled eyes. 

"Hey." the vampire whispered, smiling automatically. 

"Mmmm." Baekhyun said weakly, as if he was seeking both forgiveness and comfort at the same time. 

Chanyeol cupped Baekhyun's cheeks."Jongdae is worried you won't drink the medicine."

"I feel better now." In fact, Baekhyun sat up, looking lively all of a sudden.

"You're weak. You should lay down."

"I am okay." Baekhyun protested. 

"Jongdae said you will be weak for a couple of days." Chanyeol tried to reason.

"What does Jongdae know?"

The vampire touched the platinum blonde hair, warmth in his eyes and voice. "Jongdae knows many things. He is a very powerful witch. He once devised a dagger for Lady Tiffany that killed so many vampires."

Baekhyun placed a hand over his mouth, silent shock coursing through him. 

Chanyeol gathered Baekhyun's hands in his large ones and held onto them. "When Lady Tiffany asked Jongdae to charm that dagger, I don't think the witch realised it would bring death to his door. Jongdae swore eternal loyalty to me in penance. In return for sparing his life, I bound him to servitude."

The aristocrat's face creased in pain. "My grandmother must have hurt you a lot." His face grew doleful.

Chanyeol shook his head in reassurance. That was a long time ago. Maybe it was time he freed himself, and others as well, of the burden that he kept carrying in his heart. Sehun, Jongdae, Lady Tiffany, Baekhyun and he, all of them needed to be free of this spectre Chanyeol carried around. "You never asked me who I lost in that tragedy."

Baekhyun looked at him, still looking so very sad. "I asked Jongdae."

Chanyeol shook his head again. "It was someone else who lost their dear one that night. I had a friend." the vampire began, still holding onto Baekhyun's hands, "He was the brightest. A star, really. Born in the same twilight and at the same time, we were inseparable, like conjoined twins. Of course we differed over many issues. I was not in favour of turning humans to bloodsuckers. He...he had found someone who he wanted to turn. A young boy. Very beautiful."

"Who?"

"Do you know Oh Sehun was just seventeen when he was turned? They'd fallen in love, my friend and Sehun. They were inseparable. They were so beautiful and so powerful together, like stars. Lady Tiffany did not invite me that night, she did not invite my friend either. When I look back and think about it, your grandmother invited the most dangerous, the darkest vampires of that time. She spared Junmyeon too. But do you know what I did? I made my friend go, just because I had a nagging doubt. I knew something was afoot. I forced him to go. Ha, I can still not take his name. Sehun hated me for a while. I don't fault him. Sehun lost what I would perhaps not even survive losing." Chanyeol brought Baekhyun's hands to his chest, still clutching them tight. "He blamed me. I blamed Lady Tiffany. It has been a vicious cycle, and we have all come so far, carrying such heavy loads in our hearts." It is time to let go of everything that was holding him back, Chanyeol thought, gazing at Baekhyun's beautiful face. 

A single tear ran down Baekhyun's cheek. "I understand." he said, lips trembling with emotion,"I understand your hurt and pain and all that you must have suffered, trust me. I am sorry you were forced to drink my blood after all.  _ Poison! _ I am sorry you had to deal with my advances."

Chanyeol looked at Baekhyun, confused.

"Baekhyun," he began.

"No wait. I am really sorry you had to drink my blood to save me. I - I never wanted to force your hand like this. It was something so silly, something Sehun suggested I do. But now, I fully realise why you cannot, will not, ever warm up to me. I remind you of all terrible things, don't I? I am a trigger."

"Baekhyun." Something was not adding up.

"No wonder you did not want to suck the poison out. I am sorry that you had to, in the end. It must have been so uncomfortable for you, I -how could I make someone do something against their will. I -"

Chanyeol peered at the aristocrat's face, very still and very quiet. "Baekhyun. Do you at all remember what transpired?"

The mortal looked up to meet his eyes, "I remember you telling Sehun that he can take care of me if he wishes. But I don't know how you ended up...I, I can't remember!"

" _ You can't remember?" _

"I remember me begging for you, and you not even looking at me."

" _ Oh _ ." Chanyeol had perhaps not felt this nonplussed in over a century. No, he recalled feeling this way when Baekhyun called the precious ring ugly.

"But in the end, I don't know how, you took care of me and for that I am equally thankful and equally mortified."

The vampire was very silent. Kim Jongdae has become so unreliable with age, he thought waspishly. What was he to do now? Baekhyun didn't even remember the love making, the biting, and all that followed. This was going to be an issue.

"Try and remember." Chanyeol ventured, gently. 

"I don't want to. I'll be even more ashamed of myself. I utterly embarrassed myself this time, didn't I? But I can't even curse Oh Sehun. Turns out, Lady Tiffany did him a world of wrong."

"He doesn't hold it against you, any more than I do now."

"Nevertheless, I feel bad." The aristocrat's eyes turned hard. "Please, I want to go to the city for some time. I'll never be able to recover from this shame otherwise."

"Baekhyun, there's nothing you have to-"

" _ Please!"  _ Baekhyun implored.

Chanyeol sighed, wondering how long it would take for Baekhyun's memory to restore. He did not want to tell the aristocrat what happened that night. He wanted his person to  _ know,  _ all on his own. He was a patient man. He could wait. 

"Baekhyun, there's no reason at all for you to get so agitated. Forgive me, I can't allow you to travel. You're weak and you just recovered from a fever."

"Why won't you believe me? I am a hundred and one percent fine. I feel better, and stronger. Just let me go for a few days. Please. I just want to get over this embarrassment."

"There's nothing to be ashamed of, or embarrassed about." Chanyeol stated forcefully. "Don't let it weigh you down. I'll never hold anything against you. I have never. I won't ever."

Baekhyun groaned, pulling his hands away. "Of course you'll say something like that. You're so polite. When have you been anything but. Even so, I feel awkward. If you permit, I'd like to go to the city for a few weeks. Please.  _ Please _ ."

"You don't feel any weakness?"

"I feel as alive as a bee."

Chanyeol nodded sadly, "I'll make the arrangements for travel. I'll also urge you to let me know beforehand when you make up your mind to return. That way, I can myself go and receive you at the gates. Hmmm?"

  
  
  


The aristocrat was being too adamant, packing his travel bag all on his own, and blushing at the mere sight of Chanyeol. 

"Why don't you tell him what happened." Jongdae egged the vampire. His shipper heart was desperate. 

"That is no fun." Chanyeol stated. "Why can't he remember! When will he remember?"

"It might take a day, or twenty."

Chanyeol groaned. "Do you think he is strong enough to travel?"

"I am amazed at how quickly Lady Tiffany's heir regained his health."

  
  


When Jongdae came to take the aristocrat's luggage downstairs, he found the boy staring out the window at the endless white. "Admit it, you're going to miss Cherry Vampire manor."

"I am going to miss Cherry Vampire Manor." Baekhyun admitted.

"Then why are you leaving?"

"You won't understand."

_ You  _ don't understand, Jongdae thought. 

"So you're a witch huh? Magic and all!" the young aristocrat turned to look at him. "I should have known. Am I not blind? I am sorry you are bound to servitude to Park Chanyeol, all because of my grandmother."

Jongdae clicked his tongue. "Do not be sorry, dear aristocrat. I have waited for your arrival in Cherry Vampire manor. Ask me why."

"Why?"

"Because only your arrival in this place could have set me free."

"I don't understand."

"One day you will. Don't you wonder why it is always winter here?"

"Why?"

"It is because we are all trapped, unable to move on. I knew that with your coming, Spring would not be too far behind. Trees are flowering in the heart of these woods. I think Spring has come to Cherry Vampire Manor at last."

  
  
  
  


Baekhyun puzzled over Jongdae's words as they drove the carriage to the gates. Much to his eternal shame, the vampire was seated beside him, seated  _ very close _ beside him. He couldn't remember anything of that night but the very fact that Park Chanyeol,  _ No 9 in the list of most influential _ , had to satiate his craving for sex, sent him into pools of sweat. He was appalled. He had always been well behaved. To cry out someone's name with lustful abandon, beg him for sex, beg and beg - Baekhyun had done that. Baekhyun had really brought shame to Lady Tiffany's household. 

The young aristocrat imagined himself in Chanyeol's shoes, how odd it must have felt for the vampire to pleasure him. Baekhyun could die of embarrassment. 

Affection sought and returned in equal measure was ideal. Affection forcefully taken, not so much. He didn't want to think about how Chanyeol must have tended to him. 

He heard Chanyeol sigh. He did not even have the temerity to look in the vampire's direction. This person had seen him naked, afterall. And not only that, this person had come to his aid even though the act must have disgusted Chanyeol to some extent. 

The vampire sighed again. 

Baekhyun looked up. 

"What are you thinking about, your heart flutters so?"

"I - nothing." 

Chanyeol looked very displeased about something. Baekhyun wanted to know what he tasted like, but did he have the courage to ask the vampire? No.

Park Chanyeol made sure Baekhyun was seated comfortably in the car for the onward journey to the city. The aristocrat would have much preferred to bid 'goodbye' with a wave of his hand, but no, the vampire was determined to stick his neck inside the car and look around. "Are you warm enough? Did Jongdae pack food for you to munch along the way?"

Baekhyun was agitated. "I am. He did." He whined. "I told you a hundred times already that I am  _ very much comfortable _ . Why are you extending this torture for me? Can't I just leave with a little dignity. You're making me go red in the face."

"You don't have to blush everytime you look at me."

"I can't help it. I think about how you must have seen me naked and I - it's torture!"

The vampire shook his head, before lightly lifting Baekhyun's hand and kissing him on the ring finger. "Come home soon. The hounds will miss you." 

"I'll miss them too." Baekhyun said sadly. 

  
  
  


Baekhyun was unhappy even in the city. He filled his days with a thousand things, met several friends, played the piano turbulently, but he was still unhappy at being away from his fiancé. But did he have enough face left to go and show? So he played the piano even more turbulently. 

Oh Sehun dropped by one afternoon, out of the blue. He brought a huge basket of bespoke pastries. The vampire did not stick around for long, nor answer any of Baekhyun's questions. "I shall see you at the manor, little rosebud. Enjoy the pastries. I got them made especially for you."

Baekhyun watched Sehun drive away plaintively. 

He was not particularly fond of pastries, but decided to eat at least one, given the fact that the young vampire had taken the trouble to personally deliver the cakes to his doorstep. The pastries were very pretty too, an assortment ranging from cream puffs to mille-feuille. He was about to take a bite when he suddenly paused, startled. The sight of the whipping cream gave him goosebumps. A delicious sensation coursed through his body. He blushed. Why did he think of Park Chanyeol just then? Clearly he was whipped as whipped as possible. 

When he tried to take a bite again, a small knock on the door made him look up. He was startled for the second time in as many minutes. A very frail lady, supported by a walking stick, stood near the door to the parlour, smiling at him. 

Baekhyun abandoned his pastry and rose to his feet. Surely this was Lady Tiffany's acquaintance, she seemed old and ancient with a face covered with wrinkles and back stooped. "Please have a seat." He helped her sit on the sofa. "I'm sorry but are you here to see Lady Tiffany? I'm afraid it was a futile trip on your part. She is presently unavailable."

The old lady smiled. She seemed so familiar. "Dear boy, this is my most fruitful trip yet." Her clear eyes peered into Baekhyun's soul. "How have you been, Baekhyun? I see you look more radiant than ever. What is this magic."

"Ah," Baekhyun simpered, smiling. "I am sorry, I don't have any recollection of meeting you earlier." 

He was still shaking his head, oddly curious, when the old lady put her hand over his. "This is a very pretty ring." She had diamonds in her eyes. "Did  _ he _ give this?"

Baekhyun withdrew his hand. "He? Who?"

"The vampire?"

Baekhyun was surprised. "I am sorry, do I know you?"

The old lady laughed in her thin, quaky voice. "It seems you do not." She laughed some more, enjoying a private joke. Then, she pulled her little pearl applique headband aside and Baekhyun clearly saw it - the streak of red running through her silver white hair. 

He sat there, silent and in shock. "You are.."

The old lady kept smiling, very very amused.

"Lady Tiffany!"

"Ooooooh! You did recognise me. How?"

"Because there are only two of us remaining. But - what happened to you? How did you -" Baekhyun broke off, very perplexed.

"How did I leave a sterling lady and come back so old and ancient?"

Baekhyun felt nauseous. He had never seen someone so old, with skin almost hanging off. It reminded him of cobwebs, and decay. 

"It seems I no longer have claim to Park Chanyeol's gift. It has passed on."

"How?" Baekhyun was agitated.

"You tell me." Lady Tiffany smiled. "Did something happen between the two of you recently? I slept off at an exotic island shore as a young lady and woke up so old and withered. I knew something was up, and here you are, wearing this ring."

"Nothing happened." Baekhyun said, staring long and hard at the plate of pastries on his lap. 

"Absolutely nothing?"

Baekhyun frowned and kept staring at the pastries. A weird sensation coursed through his body again, then again. And then he immediately blushed, remembering something, remembering a vampire in the night, spreading whipping cream on his most private parts, whispering words of encouragement and love. 

Lady Tiffany took a long look at Baekhyun's changing expressions. "It seems the vampire has found someone else to bestow his gift on. You have never looked sweeter. You look like Spring."

_ Spring!  _

"How is it possible?" Baekhyun nibbled on his lips. "Jongdae said Chanyeol had squandered his gift away on you."

"Somethings are bigger than a vampire's will, Baekhyun. Maybe you are The One for him. Finally, maybe the vampire finally decided to set us all free."

Baekhyun stared at his lap. 

"I'll leave you to your box of lovely looking pastries. It is a delightful day. It seems I might not have too long to settle my worldly affairs. I'll get to work." Lady Tiffany kissed him on the cheek and hobbled away with the help of her walking stick. "We will further discuss this over dinner."

The young aristocrat fell back on the sofa and placed the box of pastries on his tummy. He found it fishy that Sehun would drop by all of a sudden, with a box of pastries no less. Weren't there plates and plates of pastries in Minseok's Mayhem Masquerade, and willing partners could take one upstairs and engage in carnal activities..

Baekhyun grabbed a pastry and licked at the the icing like a cat would lick their paw. That weird sensation again. Of being eaten by a vampire. He took another lick. Bit by bit, and bite after little bite, memories of that night trickled back. How Chanyeol had undressed him, how Chanyeol had ripped his shirt, how Chanyeol had kissed him, hot and then sweet, came back to him. 

He remembered how sweetly the vampire had parted his legs and prepared him for eating. How filling the vampire's thrusts had been, and how much it hurt when Chanyeol dug his fangs in his throat to drink deep. 

Baekhyun sat up in the seat, eyes dancing and heart beat wild, at the memory of Chanyeol repeatedly coming at the taste of his blood.  _ Lover,  _ Baekhyun had said.  _ Mine,  _ Baekhyun had said, so possessively as Chanyeol continued to move inside him. He had been possessed by the devil that night. 

And Park Chanyeol had smiled so sweetly at that, " _ Yours."  _ he replied. 

Baekhyun remembered Chanyeol cuddling him after, and running soothing circles on his back. " _ Are you cold?" _

_ "Am I The One?"  _ he had asked, trepidation and expectation in his voice. 

" _ So you noticed _ ." the vampire smiled in reply. Chanyeol had been smiling a lot lately. Smiles suited his adorable vampire face. " _ It seems they wanted me to wait for you forever. The price one has to pay to find such a perfect rosebud. I'd pay this price everytime." _

They had kissed, and Baekhyun must have fallen asleep, and forgotten all about it later. 

  
  


Baekhyun sobbed with a pastry still inside his mouth. The vampire did like him after all. More than that, the vampire thought of him as his person. Baekhyun cried like he had never cried in his life. Lady Tiffany had to return and hug him to quieten his wails. She wrote to the vampire to expect Baekhyun in a week's time. She wrote of how happy she was that Park Chanyeol had finally decided to set himself free. 

Park Chanyeol wrote back assuring that he would treasure Baekhyun and cherish him for all his remaining days, of which there were going to be very many. 

  
  


The vampire was at the gate to receive Baekhyun this time. They greeted each other shyly at first, Baekhyun seeing the vampire in summer wear for the first time in his life, and Chanyeol seeing all the beauty that had adorned Baekhyun in the days they spent apart. They kissed boldly. 

"Where is the carriage?" Baekhyun asked when his fiancé finally let go of him. 

"I thought we could walk to the manor. I'll ask Jongin to get your luggage later."

"And if I grow tired?" Baekhyun teased.

"Let me carry you then." the vampire lifted him up bridal style, throwing Baekhyun into peals of laughter. "As long as you don't grow tired of me, my dear."

"That is impossible." Baekhyun said, clinging to his fiance's neck, "There is a navel I am very interested in. And ooooh, we must reenact the pastry scene every other day." 

"You will have me grow fat." 

"But we will do that again, won't we?" Baekhyun's long lashes moved in a lovely fashion. 

"Seeing as how I am completely enchanted by you, of course, we will."

"And if I say  _ I love you _ , will you say  _ I love you _ back?"

Chanyeol set him down on the flowery path and kissed him on the lips. "Yes, I love you. I love the way your heart flutters. I love you when you laugh. I love when you blush and when you stumble. When you begin to almost say something, and stop suddenly, I love you more. I love you even more when you pretend you are not staring at me. I will love you forever, and if you die, I will die with you."

Baekhyun frowned. "I'll die?"

The vampire laughed. "Not while I am alive."

"Well, that's okay then." Baekhyun laughed sheepishly. 

"Yes, my dear, everything is going to be okay. Come now, Jongdae has tea readied for you, and a warm bath." 

  
****  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so, so very thankful to all the little darlings who made writing CVRR possible. The one who left comments, CCs, tweeted and retweeted, left DMs, I am so indebted to you all. You all made this happen, your little words of encouragements nudged me thus far. Thank you for all the love. I hope you enjoyed this little story. Love from

**Author's Note:**

> Finally! A win for me :) I managed to get something out. Self five! I'll try to do justice to the story. Watch out for me. Forever hungry for your prayers ~


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